Kaleidoscope Eyes
by skaoinmorrighu
Summary: Our tale of what happens when the hero isn't very bright. Nathrrya's angry and she's not taking it anymore. Valen's high was it the red pill or the blue one. Deekin, caught in the middle, is running for his life.
1. In the Beginning

**It should be pretty self evident that we don't own any of the Bioware created characters that appear in this story. That's why it's published as a fanfic - DUH! With that out of the way...R&R - enjoy and let us know what you think of it.**

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The elf sighs heavily, staring at the ceiling of the cave and listening to Deekin and Valen, who are both snoring heavily. It was a wheezy "melody" from Deekin and a deep sonorous "harmony" from Valen. 

She rolls over and shoves her head under her pillow hoping that sleep will come. She sighs again, pulling the pillow more tightly over her head and envying Nathrrya, who's outside keeping watch.

Finally, with her fingers stuck in her ears, she gets enough silence to doze off. She sleeps fitfully, not really trusting Nathrrya or Valen, no matter what the Seer says about them.

&&&&&&

Outside, Nathrrya shakes her head and wonders how any of them could possibly sleep through that racket. Leaning against the door of the cave, she causally pulls out one of her daggers and begins cleaning her nails while contemplating killing Valen and Deekin for nothing more than some silence.

She considers what the Seer will think when she has to tell her that her foremost guardian and new favorite pet are both dead. Since the Seer isn't likely to look kindly on such an announcement, she sheaths her dagger with a wistful look and decides that Valen and Deekin can live…for now.

Still, if she ever gets the chance to get even with them for both being so annoying, she'll teach them a thing or two about the drow and revenge. "You annoy a drow," she chuckles to herself, "at your own peril." Nathrrya leans against the opening of the cave and tries to find a comfortable spot.

Unable to do so, she moves off to sit against a nearby rock. After she gets comfortable for her watch, she looks off into the distance and spots some mushrooms she recognizes.

Grinning to herself, she whips her dagger back out and moves to collect some of them. They aren't poisonous…exactly. Valen's demonic blood also makes it hard to guess at the correct dosage, so she decides to err in favor excess.

She leaves a few trimmings out and quickly catches some of the large Underdark rats. Knowing that Seer's chosen little moon elf is squeamish about such things, she sets about cleaning them.

As she skins each one, she frowns to herself, "What has that prissy little blue-haired freak have that I don't? How can the Seer possibly think that a bard can defeat the Valsharess? What's she going to do – sing her to sleep?"

With the ingredients for a feast gathered, Nathrrya moves quickly back to camp. Nathrrya muses to herself while she makes breakfast about how unhappy the Seer would be with her if the Seer were to find out she spiked the "Chosen One's" breakfast.

As an afterthought, she scoops out a second bowl before she starts adding the mushrooms. She stirs the pot for a while and when it smells like it's a full potency…uhhh…done to her, she goes to wake the others.

She wakes the Seer's "Chosen One" and shoves a bowl into her hands, "Here…have some breakfast."

Nessa digs in gratefully, happy for the hot meal and, after her recent experiences with drow food, not too willing to ask about the ingredients.

Valen wakes and inhales deeply. He looks around, a bit groggily, "What's cooking?"

Nathrrya points at the pot on the fire, "Fix your own."

Deekin wakes as well and sniffs the air experimentally, "Hmmm….smells like Old Boss' feet. Deekin thinks drow be grumpy because they gassy from bad food. Old Boss always be in bad mood when he gassy."

Valen shoots the kobold a dark look as he crouches next to the pot on the fire, serving himself.

As Deekin watches the contents of the pot rapidly diminishing, he shouts, "Hey! You leaves some for Deekin. Deekin be hungry too."

Valen glares at the kobold and momentarily contemplates adding Deekin to the cook pot. "I hear they taste like chicken," he muses to himself.

At seeing Valen's contemplative stare wandering between him and the cook pot, Deekin shrieks, "Boss! Deekin not likes how goat-man looking at faithful kobold companion!"

Nessa rolls her eyes while she finishes her breakfast, "Cut it out guys. You're both being jerks."

"Goat-man starts it!" shrieks Deekin as he reaches to scoop the remnants of the food into his bowl.

As he raises his spoon to his mouth, he notices an odor that strikes a memory, and he decides he isn't that hungry after all.

As he moves to put his bowl down, Valen speaks up around a mouth full of food. "You gonna eat that?"

Deekin smiles sweetly at the tiefling, "No, I decide I nots that hungry. Here, you haves it."

As Valen grabs the proffered bowl, Deekin smirks to himself, "Deekin not stupid like goat-man."

The kobold gets up and steps outside the cave.

Nathrrya looks at him curiously and Deekin frowns at her. "That not nice, creepy drow lady."

The drow looks at the kobold in apparent confusion. "Whatever do you mean?"

Deekin chuckles. "Nots to worry, long as you nots do it again to Deekin. I gives mine to nasty goat-man."

Nathrrya raises her eyebrows, impressed. "I would not have thought you so smart, lizard."

"That be your mistake," he replies.

&&&&&&

Inside the cave, Valen finishes wolfing down the remnants of the food and starts methodically packing his gear. He suddenly let out a shriek and jumps a meter backward from his pack.

Nessa immediately springs to attention and grabs her rapier, concerned an assassin has somehow managed to materialize in the middle of their camp.

Seeing nothing, she looks at Valen in confusion.

The massive weapon master is huddled in a ball next to the fire, pointing at his pack in horror. "BUNNICULA! M-m-m-my pack! Bunnicula is in my bag!"

The tiefling covers his face with his hands and sobs like a heartbroken girl, "Oh Gods! Don't let the vampire rabbit get me!"

Nathrrya and Deekin hear the commotion and race inside to see what is going on. They enter the cave and stop, their mouths falling open. Then the two of them start laughing uproariously at what they see.

Nessa, seeing there is no immediate danger, looks over at Valen's pack, and sees nothing. She uses her rapier to move the bag around, thinking maybe this "Bunnicula" is under the bag, but she finds nothing.

The bard stares at the tiefling. "Valen, what the hells…?"

She picks up his pack and looks into it and Valen squeals in protest. "No! Don't open it! Bunnicula will get out and kill us all!"

With that, the tiefling jumps up from his fetal position on the ground and races out of the cave. Nessa gets a good look at him as he shoves his way past her.

He's even paler than usual, his pupils are dilated, and he's covered in a sheen of sweat. He stops briefly to lean against a boulder while he vomits.

Nessa runs after him, quickly preparing a healing spell to try to help him while Deekin and Nathrrya exchange knowing looks. As Nessa approaches him, he looks up at her, screams again, and takes off at full speed.

Nessa stands there, perplexed, with her spell only half cast as she watches the retreating tiefling's back in amazement.

She turns to Nathrrya, "Did you catch what he was babbling about?"

Nathrrya, barely managing to keep a straight face says, "I think he said something like, "Dire Hamster…every man for himself," but I'm not entirely sure."

Deekin, hiding a toothy grin, turns and begins ostensibly checking the cave for any items that might have been left behind while his sides shake with quiet but nearly uncontrolled giggling.

From the opening of the cave, Nathrrya looks down at the kobold, "For someone his size, that tiefer is fast."

Deekin nods in agreement as he turns to begin packing his things so that they can break camp, knowing that Nessa will insist on pursuing the obnoxious "goat man." Deekin reflects on this and decides that it's a character flaw in Nessa that isn't entirely without its good points since she's never left him behind either.

Nessa flings her things and some of Valen's gear into her pack as quickly as she is able. She stands outside the cave, stomping her foot impatiently as Deekin takes his time about stowing some of Valen's heavier items in his magic bags.

Nathrrya lollygags about packing as well; giving Valen all the chances he needs to run headlong into danger. The Seer will be sad, but it won't be her fault and then all she'll have to do is get rid of that pesky little kobold.

Nathrrya sizes him up and decides that she can probably arrange some sort of an accident during a fight. She shrugs on her pack and goes to stand beside Nessa, who is busy frowning at the kobold.

Finally Nessa growls at him, "Deekin…move it, will you? We have to go after him. I don't know what's going on, but we can't just leave him like this."

Deekin, finally shouldering his pack, mutters under his breath, "Yes, we cans."

Nessa sets off with her two tardy, sluggish companions. She sighs to herself, "They must be really tired, if this is the best pace they can manage. I hate to push them, but we have to catch up to him."

They set off following Valen's trail by watching for scuffs in the thick layer of dust that coats the most unused corners of the Underdark. Nessa's ears prick as she catches snatches of the sound of Valen sobbing.

Homing in on the sound, they approach wherever it is that the tiefling has holed up in his misery. Nathrrya starts mentally counting the coin it's going to cost the tiefling to keep her from telling everyone that he fled in terror from a Bunnicula and a dire hamster.


	2. Dinner

Nathrrya, with her superior dark vision, stops the trio. With the tiniest twinge of guilt, she tells Nessa, "You stay back. It's obvious that he's afraid of you. "

She looks down at Deekin, "You're the smallest and the least threatening of us. Why don't you try to approach him?"

Deekin looks back at Nathrrya, "Deekin not knows what you be up to, but Deekin not likes it."

Deekin moves hesitantly toward the sound of the sobbing tiefling. He rounds a corner and finds that Valen has wedged himself into a crack in the cavern wall, still sobbing uncontrollably.

Deekin sidles slowly toward the opening when Valen looks up at him with an expression of amazement on his face.

When he speaks it's not in a language Deekin understands.

The growling, sibilant fluid menace inherent in the abyssal tongue unsettles him, even without being aware of what the words mean.

Valen speaks in a hushed whisper, "Lairani? Is it really you? I thought that Grimash't killed you. How can this be?"

Before Deekin can respond, Valen moves swiftly toward him and sweeps him into an embrace. He rocks what he thinks is his former lover in his arms, murmuring words of endearment in abyssal.

In reality, Deekin thrashes trying to escape his grip. Deekin, who doesn't speak abyssal, hasn't figured out what's happening yet.

Deekin looks at Valen, "Ugh! Goat man, you lets Deekin go now. Deekin not knows why Boss keeps you. If Deekin be faithful kobold companion, yous be dumbass tiefling companion."

Valen tightens his grip, "Lairani, you're so thin. They've starved you, haven't they? I know where there's a hamster. It's not much, but it's better than ashes."

He sweeps Deekin up into a fireman's carry and starts back toward the campsite. Since he's no longer being crushed against the massive tiefling's chest, he's content to be carried, for the moment.

&&&&&&

At hearing the cessation of sobbing, Nathrrya and Nessa edge closer to the corner since neither one is close enough to hear what's being said. They approach the corner cautiously, listening, but they aren't able to hear anything other than the soft murmur of Valen's voice.

The words remain indistinct, but the tone strikes Nessa as odd. She can't quite put her finger on it and while she's thinking, she hears footsteps approaching, so she pulls back.

Valen comes around the corner, carrying Deekin. At seeing Nessa-hamster, he leans down and whispers to Deekin-Lairani, "See, love…I told you we'd find you some food. Now, just wait here."

Nathrrya, who understands abyssal, is nearly howling with laughter. Nessa, standing in front of Nathrrya, just looks confused.

He parks Deekin almost reverently on a boulder, kisses him passionately, which forces Nathrrya to stuff nearly her entire fist into her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Nessa just stands staring, mouth open in shock and amazement. Valen turns to face Nessa and draws his flail, shifting his balance on to the balls of his feet stares at her, as if steeling himself.

Deekin from his place on the boulder spits and sputters, wiping his mouth. He shouts at Nessa, "Boss…goat man be really crazy."

His eye color drifts slowly into a glowing red and Nathrrya, who's seen what Valen's capable of in such a rage, grabs Nessa and starts running.

Nessa shouts back over her shoulder as she's being dragged by Nathrrya, "Run! Just run, Deekin!"

Valen sees a large black naga swoop out of the darkness and take off with the rodent that is supposed to provide dinner for his love. In his extreme frustration, he feels the rage overtake him and he doesn't even try to stop it.

The hamster is squeaking loudly, so he knows it isn't dead yet. He hefts his flail and gives chase. Between the hamster and the naga, he might be able to put some meat on Lairani and nurse her back to health. Then they can be properly reunited. But first things first, he has to catch that naga.

Nathyrra looks back and sees that the tiefling is gaining on them. His enormous strides eat the ground and she realizes they will soon be caught. In desperation, she grabs Nessa and levitates to the roof of the cavern.

The bard struggles in the drow's grip. "I'm afraid of heights!" she squawks. Nathyrra snorts derisively, "You should be more afraid of HIM catching you, but I'll put you down if you really want me to."

Nessa looks down and sees Valen pacing the ground beneath them, his tail lashing violently. She can hear him snarling like some ravenous animal, and gulps loudly. "Um…no, that's okay."

Deekin eases off his rock and creeps forward, his crossbow at the ready. He proceeds in the direction he saw the elves run and soon hears Valen's snarling and growling. The kobold pokes his head around the corner of a rock and sees that the tiefling has found a side of the cave to climb. Deekin looks up and sees the bard clinging tenaciously to the levitating drow.

Valen is about halfway up the wall when he looks down. "My love," he calls in abyssal, "I'll be right back. The serpent has made an attempt at your breakfast and I shall bring them both to you as a feast."

Nathyrra hears him and almost loses her grip on Nessa to stop herself from laughing again.

Nessa looks askance at the drow. "Nathyrra, what the hells is going on? What happened to Valen?" The assassin feigns innocence, "I really don't know. He seems to be having a reaction to something."

"How long do you think he will be like this?" asks the bard. "I have no idea," Nathyrra replies, "but we should try to stay away from him."

"How long can you levitate?" Nathyrra scowls, "Not THAT long."

Deekin pulls out his lute, thinking a song might calm the savage beast. He begins to pluck the strings and realizes he doesn't know anything to sing but the DOOM! Song. "That always makes goat-man more mad," he thinks to himself as he stows the instrument back into his bag.

"Boss!" he calls to Nessa. "What is it, Deekin?" she yells back. "Deekin be thinking, maybe you sings song to goat-man to makes him happy."

The elven bard thinks for a moment and decides the idea has merit. "Nathyrra, can you put me on that ledge over there?" The drow spies an outcropping and nods. "Hold on." The two women float over to the wall and Nessa climbs onto the wall, far from Valen's reach. She reaches into her pack, pulls out her harp, and begins to sing a song with a soothing melody.

Nathyrra disappears into the shadows to watch the ensuing comedy.

Valen almost reaches the pair when they float away. He snarls in frustration and pounds the wall with his fist. As he looks down at his feet to find a way to climb down, he feels the sound of Nessa's harp tickling in his ear.

As the bard begins to sing, he feels a soothing warmth flow through his body and he finds he can't hold on to the wall any longer. Deekin watches the tiefling begin to fall and realizes he is in danger of being squished, so the kobold takes a couple of hasty steps back.

Valen hits the ground in an explosion of dust and lays there for a minute while he gets his breath back.

Deekin looks down at the stunned weapon master and snickers. "You not climbs so good goat-man."

The tiefling scrambles up from his prone position and kneels before the kobold, reaching up with his hand to stroke Deekin's cheek. "My love, are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

He looks stricken as he murmurs gently in abyssal. Deekin is struck speechless as he tries to bat Valen's hand away.

"You stops that right now goat-man, or Deekin gets real mad. Boss finds you burnt to crisp," the kobold sputters.

Valen sighs heavily, undeterred by Deekin's protests. "You poor dear. You're a mess. Come with me. There is a pool around the corner where we can get cleaned up and rest. Perhaps there are some fish in it as well; that black naga took off with your meal."

The tiefling once again cradles Deekin gently in his arms and stands up. The bard tries to struggle free, but Valen holds him firmly, as if afraid of letting him fall.

Nathyrra and Nessa continue to watch Valen's bizarre behavior, unsure of how to proceed with Deekin's rescue. Clearly, they are concerned that the kobold would be injured, but they are worried about the weapon master's reaction to their attempts as well. For the moment, they can do naught but follow in the darkness as Valen carries Deekin away.

The tiefling carries the kobold and walks down a dark passage, which comes out into a roomy cave with a small pond. "We should be safe here, love. I'll check the water out first to make sure it's safe for you, and then I'll help you clean up."

Valen deposits Deekin-Lairani gently against the cave wall and going a short distance away, proceeds to strip. He gives Deekin-Lairani a few seductive glances as he disrobes.

He piles his armor, boots and clothing neatly on the ground and walks naked into the water. Deekin's eyes bulge and his voice dies in his throat.

The kobold is so horrified he can't speak. The tiefling is not only quite tall, but he is tremendously muscled and scarred, as well.

Deekin heard Valen telling Nessa about his time in the Abyss and the torture he endured. On the man's back are eight, heavy, parallel scars that run from the top of his shoulder blades to just below his waist, clearly claw marks from the demon he served.

Deekin shudders as Valen disappears into the water.

Nathyrra and Nessa creep to the doorway of the cave and look around the corner just in time to see Valen's head disappear under the water. "Psssst! Deekin!" hisses Nessa. The kobold whips his head around at the sound of his name. "Thanks Gods you be here!" he whispers. "I not knows what crazy goat-man sayings, but Deekin not likes it at all. Faithful kobold companion be thinking he be DOOOOMED!"

&&&&&&


	3. Swimming

Nathrrya snickers. "Kobold, he thinks you are his lost love from the Abyss. He thinks Nessa is some kind of rodent. I don't know what he sees when he looks at me, though. Didn't hear that part."

Deekin scowls at the drow and wags his scaly finger at her. "This be all YOUR faults, creepy drow lady! Deekin knows what you did!" The drow raises her eyebrows, "It's only too bad you didn't eat it as well. THAT would definitely be entertaining. Not that this hasn't been fun, mind you."

Nessa's mouth falls open as she looks between her companions. "What are you two going on about?"

Deekin points his finger accusingly at Nathyrra and shrieks, "Creepy drow lady…" but before can finish, a splash in the water calls his attention. Valen has apparently caught lunch and is holding up a rather large, ugly fish by the tail.

Pleased with his success, the tiefling begins to walk out of the water, waving the gasping fish at Deekin-Lairani.

As he emerges further from the water, the elven bard's eyes almost bulge out of their sockets, "Oh. My. Gods."

Her jaw drops since his height isn't the only thing about the tiefling that's "super-sized."

Nathrrya following the direction of her gaze elbows her, "What? You think mortal women take demons as lovers for their good looks and pleasant dispositions? Come on…we have to get out of here."

Nathrrya grabs Nessa and drags her out of sight, back down the dark passage way.

As they hide behind a rock outcropping, waiting for a chance to rescue Deekin, Nessa hisses at Nathrrya, "What was Deekin on about?"

Nathrrya shrugs, "I don't think Deekin likes me very much. He keeps calling me "creepy drow lady". I do have name, you know. Can you talk to him about perhaps using it?"

Nessa considers this for a moment and lapses into silence. She recalls all too well what Tomi and Deekin were like. Nathrrya, watching the elf's face closely, nearly chuckles to herself.

She's managed to turn aside the elf's curiosity with a few quick statements. She smirks, thinking that the Seer's "Chosen One" is a bit light both in brawn and brains.

Nathrrya looks at the patches of glowing fungus on the walls and chuckles to herself. "This "Chosen One" has about the same IQ as the lichen," she thinks to herself.

She turns back to the scene at the pool and decides that it won't be coin that the tiefling will have to put up in order to ensure her silence. Well, at least not all coin.

&&&&&&

Nessa sighs heavily, realizing that Deekin was trying to tell her something, but feeling helpless because she can't figure it out. She knows that Nathrrya is behind it all somehow and that Deekin knows something, too.

She looks down at the faintly glowing patch of fungus and kicks it. For her part, she finds the sight of the naked tiefling to be riveting, for reasons she can't quite explain.

All that rippling muscle and a prehensile tail. "I wonder what that gets used for?" she muses.

She looks away from the pool for a moment and into the darkness, grateful that it conceals the rising heat in her face. She turns back, drawn to stare at the naked tiefling once more and it occurs to her that there might be more to do on this little jaunt than just keeping watch at night.

Watching Valen with Deekin-Lairani, she's struck by how gentle he seems now. His causal nudity, his obvious endowments, his tenderness, the stark contrast between this sudden bout of tenderness after his snarling savage rage earlier makes her want to trade places with Deekin.

&&&&&&

Since Deekin-Lairani seems repulsed by the fish, the tiefling, in a lightening fast gesture, whips the still-flopping fish around. The fish's head hits the cave wall with a loud "THWACK!" The sound is followed by an immediate dispersal of the fish's head into the surrounding area.

He proffers the fish again, but Deekin-Lairani seems even more repulsed by it now. Thinking that perhaps, she'd rather bathe first, he tosses the fish aside and sits quickly.

He murmurs adoringly to the kobold and nods, "Yes, love… You're right. You should bathe first. It will make you feel better. Come…I'll help you."

He grabs Deekin-Lairani and pulls her into his lap. As he starts trying to help her undress, she begins to struggle against him.

He stops for a moment and whispers to her soothingly, still in abyssal, "I don't care what they've done to you. Shhh…. I'll help you. It'll be alright."

&&&&&&

The fish's head shatters, covering Deekin in smelly goo. Deekin grimaces but doesn't have much of a chance to clean himself before the tiefling proffers the fish to him again.

Deekin grimaces at Valen, "Ugh! Goat man, now Deekin be dirty. Deekin not likes baths, but now Deekin smells bad."

Deekin, who doesn't find anything at all attractive about Valen, grimaces again as the tiefling pulls him into his lap. When the tiefling starts trying to remove his clothing, Deekin starts swatting at Valen's hands.

Finally, in frustration, he slaps Valen in the face - hard. Realizing his error, the kobold cringes, awaiting his demise. To his surprise, Valen doesn't become violent even though his eyes flicker between red and blue for a few moments.

&&&&&&

Valen's head rocks with the sudden impact. He sucks in a sharp breath and rubs his cheek, frowning at Deekin-Lairani.

He struggles with his temper for a few moments while he decides on his next course of action. Deciding that Deekin-Lairani is obviously in no shape to care for herself, he grabs and with a sudden yank, rips both his shirt and pants away.

The rest of the clothing follows quickly as Deekin squeals in horror, "Boss! Boss! Deekin thinks now be good time."

As Nessa starts out of their hiding place, Nathrrya drags her back and whispers in her ear, "We cannot fight him. We must get Deekin and use him to lure the tiefling back to camp, where the Seer can help him. I don't think Deekin is in any danger from a bath. In fact, it might do him a world of good. The drow have sensitive noses."

Nessa sighs and relents, "If you're sure that's all it is."

Nathrrya nods so Nessa scoots back into their deep shadow behind the rock. Nathrrya whispers to her, "All we have to do is get him to go to sleep so that we can get Deekin and make a run for it." Nessa nods thoughtfully.

Valen picks up the kobold and throws him over his shoulder, heading back toward the pool. He walks quickly, since Deekin is kicking and screaming the whole time. As he wades deeper into the pool, Deekin's thrashing becomes more violent.

Nathrrya, watching the kobold, is quite amused. This is working out far better than she had originally hoped and the tiefling turning out to be a bit of eye candy was an unexpected bonus.

She glances at Nessa out of the corner of her eye and sees that the elf is practically drooling at the sight of the tiefling and an idea occurs to her. She decides to see just how dense the elf really is and if it works, it will leave her alone with the annoying kobold...

She grins wickedly to herself, "You know…I just had another idea. I have a few disguise spells. I could make you look like Deekin and then perhaps we'd be able to swap the two of you. That would get Deekin back."

Nathrrya fails to mention the obvious flaw in her plan and is faintly shocked when the elf readily agrees.

Since Valen has his back turned, Nessa signals Deekin who nods. Nathrrya quickly casts the spells, turning Nessa into "Deekin."

As Deekin, Nessa strips then creeps closer to the pool and eases into the water. The plan is that once Valen lets go of the real Deekin, Nathrrya will cast an invisibility spell on him, allowing him to escape while Nessa takes his place.

Since Valen's a demon, he can sense the soul of a living being, so Nessa's hoping that she can keep him distracted long enough for Deekin to get away. While Deekin is horrified that the tiefling is attracted to him, Nessa is rather looking forward to the prospect of being bathed by the tiefling.

Finally, Valen goes to dunk his head so that he can wash his hair and he lets go of Deekin. Deekin, not really sure what's going on, makes his break, splashing heavily to get to the edge.

As soon as he's on solid ground, Nathrrya casts the invisibility spell and Deekin pads off, trying to be as quiet as he can. He's had more than enough of the crazy goat man.

Now to get even with creepy drow lady for putting him through this. Boss is nice but Boss has all the brains of a turnip. Deekin be smarter than that.


	4. Trading Places

Nessa, disguised as Deekin, eases herself into the pool as Valen surfaces to see what all the splashing is about. Not sure what else to do, Nessa splashes water at him.

To her surprise, a wistful smile crosses the tiefling's face as he crosses the pond toward her. Watching from the hallway, Nathrrya realizes why the elf was so eager to swap places with Deekin and she curses to herself for a moment.

She should have volunteered instead of letting Nessa go. He carries her to an underwater shelf where he sits, cradling her in his lap, while he pours water over her with his other hand.

She finds that she's content to nestle against his chest while he croons into her hair. His size and bulk seem more…sheltering than threatening to her.

She doesn't understand the words, but the tone of voice makes the meaning obvious. He begins to nuzzle her ear and she shivers in response. Thinking she is cold, Valen draws her closer to his warmth.

Deekin grabs his things and jogs off down the dark hallway. He stops, rummages in his pack, and pulls out his spare clothing.

Dressing quickly, he searches for Nathrrya. Stomping up her, he glares at her, "You gets Boss back now! Deekin not knows what you be doing, but Deekin not likes it."

Nathrrya, pretending nonchalance, waves a dismissive hand at the kobold, "Hush! It was her idea anyway. Besides, she's not as averse to the tiefling as you are. Look at the two of them."

Deekin looks and sees that "Boss" isn't putting up any resistance to the tiefling. As a matter of fact, she seems to be encouraging him.

Deekin frowns, "We gots to stop this. Deekin not wants stupid smelly goat man around."

Nathyrra just waves her hand at the kobold again. "Oh be quiet. This is partly your fault, too." Deekin sputters, "How this be Deekin's fault?" The drow grins at the kobold's indignant attitude. "If you had eaten _your_ breakfast, he wouldn't have gotten so much. Now shut up and let's just make sure your precious "Boss" doesn't get hurt."

Nessa is far from hurting. It never occurred to her that sitting in Valen's lap would be so delicious. It was everything she could do to not to demonstrate her appreciation of his obvious interest, but she would feel guilty about taking advantage of his mental condition. The tiefling continues to gently pour water over her and whisper to her. In spite of the shivers of delight that are coursing down her spine, she finds herself getting frustrated that she couldn't understand what he is saying. She surreptitiously casts a quick cantrip.

"…missed you so much Lairani. When Grimash't killed you, my whole world collapsed. I wanted to die." Valen takes a deep, steadying breath. "I've wished that almost every day since," he murmurs. He wraps his muscular arms around her and hugs her close. "But, you've come back to me, my love. You found me in this hole…."

The tiefling grows quiet and Nessa wonders if he has fallen asleep. Feeling uncharacteristic tenderness toward the weapon master in his obvious distress, Nessa reaches up to stroke his cheek, surprised when her hand comes away wet.

He looks up at her and his face is streaked with tears. He gives a wan smile as he leans forward to kiss her cheek. Without really thinking, the bard turns her head at the last second and their lips meet.

Valen's eyes open wide in surprise then close in contentment as he sighs. She feels him smile against her lips as his kiss becomes gently demanding.

He moves one hand to gently massage her breast and stroke her nipple. She moans into his kiss as he teases her lips apart with his questing tongue.

Nessa feels the enormity of his arousal pressed against her and decides she will just have to deal with the guilt later on. Back in the passage, Nathyrra and Deekin are watching in a mixture of fascination and horror.

Deekin starts to race back out to "rescue" Boss, but Nathyrra grabs his cloak and yanks him backward off his feet. "Be still, kobold," she hisses in the darkness. "Valen isn't _hurting_ her. I don't know about you, but I have no interest in interrupting him at this moment. Your boss can take care of herself and stop him if she wants to…but it doesn't look like she does. We just have to wait."

Deekin looks up at the assassin in disgust. "You wants to watch nasty goat-man DO things with boss. That be gross. Besides, Deekin not wants smelly goat man around. We gots to do something!"

Nathrrya snickers at the kobold, "I'd say that, judging by the moaning, Valen is doing something." Deekin glares at Nathrrya before he picks up his bag and stalks down the dark passage, not sure if he is going to write this particular chapter in their epic adventure or not.

The tiefling eases Nessa out of his lap and on to the shelf as he stands. He turns her to face him, his strength moving her easily.

Delicately, his hands slide up her thighs, pushing her legs apart as he moves to stand between her legs. He continues to caress her body gently as he starts to kiss her neck.

Nessa scoots forward and wraps her legs around his powerful hips, drawing him closer to her. She wraps her arms around his neck and runs her tongue slowly along one of his long, pointed ears.

His growl against her throat sounds like a purr and he pulls her even closer while reaching down to stroke her. Her moans fill his ear as he raises his head to look her in the face.

She feels a flash of nervousness when she sees his eyes are glowing violet, but his smile is so gentle and loving, her fear quickly dissipates as waves of heat begin to wash over her.

Nathyrra's sensitive ears pick up the sounds coming from the other side of the cavern and she smiles to herself. "It sure sounds like he knows what he's doing", she thinks with a twinge of envy.

She smirks as she imagines ways to find herself in his bed, perhaps a Charm Monster spell? Grinning wickedly, she begins to daydream to the 'music' in the other room.

Judging from the trembling in the woman's limbs, Valen decides the time is right to finally be properly reunited with his love. He makes a minor adjustment in his position and slowly thrusts forward as he gently grips her hips.

Nessa is no stranger to intimate relations, but the tiefling's size makes for a rather singular experience. The bard finds herself clinging to his shoulders and gasping aloud as he brings her closer. Her breathing is loud and ragged as she is completely overwhelmed with sensations she's never encountered.

As he moves slowly against her, he begins to hoarsely whisper in her ear again. "Lairani…oh gods…I don't want to hurt you…it's been so long…." He leans forward to capture her mouth with his and kisses her so gently and thoroughly Nessa feels tears warming her eyes.

Valen's rhythm increases gradually until she begins to feel him tremble violently. With a final, powerful thrust, his climax washes over him and Nessa is startled to see his eyes flash a fiery red she has only ever seen when he is enraged in battle.

The tiefling turns his face from hers and rests it on her shoulder, where he bites her hard enough to draw blood. She cries out but can't move, as he is clutching her tightly.

She feels him licking the blood from her wound as he begs desperately, repeatedly, "Please…don't ever leave me again….I'll do anything…anything…just stay…please…"

For a moment, she's blazingly jealous of Lairani. Unable to respond to him in abyssal, Nessa stays twined about him, since he doesn't seem in any hurry to separate from her. After a time, he seems content to simply kiss her and caress her.

Finally, he whispers to her, "My love, I have missed you so. There is another way…for me…for you…to feed. Just let me rest for a bit… I haven't been injured in a while. I should be able to…to feed you."

The tiefling sighs, still crooning to her in abyssal over and over, begging her not to leave and making a thousand promises. Nessa sighs, feeling guilty, because she knows that whatever this is won't last forever.

It will wear off eventually and leave the tiefling alone again. Seeing this side of him, instead of the dour, bossy, belligerent, and temperamental façade he normally presents, she finds him incredibly attractive.

The irony of the fact that she had to become, at least to him, a completely different person to see him this way, is lost on Nessa. Desperately she casts about for something that will give him some comfort when that happens.

She quietly casts a Tongues spell, which will let her speak to him in abyssal. She runs her hands over him before threading her fingers into his hair and pulling his head down, so that she can whisper in his ear.

Nipping gently at his ear lobe, she growls to him in abyssal, "I cannot…feed…on you, but I have missed you as well. If the rest of the offer is still available…"

&&&&&&


	5. New Friends

&&&&&&

Nathrrya crouching in the hallway rolls her eyes in disgust. That elf is having all the fun.

She considers how she might go about forcing the elf to swap places, but can't come up with anything that seems workable. She is too far away, even for her sensitive hearing, to pick up the words.

She sighs again, flipping through her scrolls to see what she can summon. She needs a distraction and, with any luck, she can get Nessa out of the way and take her place, leaving Valen none the wiser.

Now to deal with that annoying little kobold twit… She backs down the hallway and scribes a summoning circle in the floor with some chalk. She pulls out the scroll and starts to read.

&&&&&&&

In answer, Valen lifts her easily and carries her from the pool. He sets her down carefully to the side, with a slow lingering kiss. He arranges their clothing into the semblance of a comfortable bed, stretches out on it, and beckons to her.

She practically leaps into his arms, twining hers about his neck. He cradles her head in one of his giant hands as his mouth closes over hers.

His other hand roams over her with abandon. Nessa gasps in surprise as his tail slips between her thighs.

He begins to return her earlier attentions to his ear lobe as she tries to recall what she was going to tell him. He rolls, carrying her with him, so that she's atop him now.

Still kissing her, his hands guide her as she tries to accommodate his bulk.

She can hear him whispering to her, "Lairani….oh love…gods…that's even better than I remembered…."

His hands continue to guide her until she finds a definite rhythm. She looks up and finds herself staring into his violet eyes. She almost stops, spellbound by the intensity in his gaze, but his hands reach up to guide her again.

After a while, she can feel him starting to tremble again and it's the most delicious thing, sending her into her own climax. Finally, some time later, she lies next to him, her head pillowed on his shoulder.

The elf has never felt so safe and loved as she does at this moment.

She sighs and speaks without looking at him, "Valen, love…I have things to tell you and it's important because my time is short."

Valen rolls to face her, clearly alarmed, "What is it, love? What do you mean your time is short?"

&&&&&&

In the hallway, a bearded devil pops into place, displacing the air.

He looks around and sniffs disdainfully, "Why have you summoned me mortal?"

Nathrrya, who is busy congratulating herself on a masterful plan, misses the devil's lack of respect. She's already stripped her clothing in preparation for the binding ritual.

If she had asked Valen, he'd have laughed since the sex isn't really an obligatory part of the ritual. It's just something that the infernals cooked up to get mortal women to bed them.

It's really quite the "in" joke in certain circles. Some of the more juvenile groups even have contests to see how many women they can dupe.

She begins to step into the circle as she speaks the words of a temporary binding ritual.

The devil looks at her and laughs heartily, "Oh, no you don't. I'm not going to do that…with you. You should have summoned up some other infernal for that. I'm really not in the mood." He looks Nathrrya over, "Nor are you likely to put me in the mood. The only thing you might do is put me off my lunch."

Nathrrya stands there, frustrated after listening to the lovebirds in the cave, and flabbergasted at having been turned down by a devil. Before she can stop him, he steps casually out of the summoning circle and walks back toward the main cavern, sniffing the air.

With her mind still locked up like a set of seized gears, Nathrrya stands there naked and openmouthed as the devil saunters casually away from her.

&&&&&&

Nessa reaches up and takes his face in her hands, "I would stay with you, if I could. I swear it. I have always loved you. I don't have much time left, and then I'll have to go. It's not by my choice. If it were up to me, I'd stay with you forever."

Valen wraps his arms around her and his tail wraps itself possessively around her leg as tears leak from his eyes, "No…No…I won't let them take you. You're not leaving me again…"

He tries to bury his face in her shoulder but she pushes his head back, so she can look him in the eye. She shakes her head, "Listen to me, my love, and listen well. I don't know exactly how much time I have left. I have things I have to tell you. You should be nicer to people – more like how you are with me. You might make some friends. That's not the really important part, though; this is and I want you to memorize it. Now repeat after me, "Nessa the elf loves you. Nathrrya is your enemy. Deekin doesn't like you."

Valen's eyes grow wide in astonishment and he shakes his head vigorously. "That cannot be, Lairani. Nessa wants nothing to do with me. Besides, she isn't YOU."

She strokes his cheek, desperate to convince him otherwise. "She really does love you, Valen. She doesn't know how to approach you. It breaks my heart to know you are so lonely. You can find happiness with her and that would please me."

Nessa hounds him until he starts repeating it. When she's satisfied that he'll remember it later, she lies back down next to him, content to remain in his embrace. He only tightens his arms around her, as his kisses and his tears rain down on her.

&&&&&&

Nathrrya, finally coming around, dresses quickly and steps into the cavern to see the devil talking to the kobold. The kobold is scribbling frantically in his book as the devil chuckles, nodding. Each time the devil chuckles, a small cloud of sulphurous smoke wafts out of his nostrils.

Nathrrya runs up to the devil and starts to shout at him., "What are you doing? I summoned you. I bound you. You have to do what I say." The devil turns to look at her for a moment, shrugs, and turns back to his conversation with the kobold.

Nathrrya grabs his arm, and shouts at him again, "You have to do what I say. I summoned you." The devil snorts, expelling another cloud of brimstone-laden smoke, "No." He starts to turn back to the kobold when Nathrrya tugs on his arm, pulling him back around to face her.

The devil laughs at her, pulling his arm back and sending Nathrrya sprawling. The devil rolls his eyes and says something in Draconic to the kobold, which Nathrrya can't understand.

What she does know is that Deekin thinks it's funny and that makes her pretty angry. She's drow enough to know when she's being laughed at. She leaps to her feet and stomps her foot in frustration.

"If you won't do as I command, then I'll return you to the Abyss." She casts the end part of the spell, the dismissal, and is horrified when nothing happens. Well, not quite 'nothing.' The insufferable snorting and chortling from the kobold and the devil gets louder.

&&&&&&


	6. Aftermath

Deekin is pretty excited about his new friend. He is even more excited when Oikkaburgett (call me 'Burg') explains that Nathyrra mispronounced the devil's name, so he doesn't have to do what she says.

The kobold can appreciate a great joke when he sees it, and he definitely sees one here. To make things even better, Burg sits down with Deekin and starts to share great stories with him.

The devil presents Deekin with a ring so that the bard could call him to come visit once a day. The two of them were having a grand time watching Nathyrra try to control her rage and frustration at Burg's insubordination.

&&&&&&&

Nessa is lying with Valen on the floor of the cave, gently stroking his chest as the tiefling holds her close. Judging by his breathing, he has fallen fast asleep. The elf feels awful about what happened and is frantically trying to figure out what she can do to help. "Nathyrra said he could be having a reaction to something…but what?" she thinks to herself. She mentally goes through the inventory in her many bags and comes up with an idea.

Very carefully, and with great regret, she extricates herself from Valen's arms. He makes a small sound of protest in his sleep but does not awaken. Nessa scampers quickly to the passage and reaches into her bag.

She pulls out some clothes and throws them on, then thrusts her hand into her bag of scrolls, quickly locating the ones she needs. She grabs a couple of potions for good measure and walks quietly back to the sleeping tiefling and begins casting.

When she is done, his color seems to be more normal, if corpse-pale can be considered normal. He shivers a little and she reaches over to draw his cloak over him.

As she covers him, he calls out. "Lairani!" and he quickly sits upright, knocking her backward onto her rear end. Quickly realizing that sitting up is a mistake, he crosses his legs, leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees as he rests his face in his hands.

"Oh gods, my head," he groans. "What the hells happened?"

Nessa struggles for an explanation. "Um…you…ah…had a reaction to something. We think." She winces to herself, "THAT was smooth. Some bard you are, oh silver-tongued one."

He groans again and Nessa offers him a vial. "Here, this should help your head." Without looking, he reaches out and the vial disappears into his massive hand. He pops the top and, wincing, quickly downs the contents before returning his head to his hands.

The silence is too awkward, so Nessa decides he needs a little more of an explanation. "We were having breakfast and you…um…suddenly jumped up and ran out."

Valen takes a long, slow breath and lets it out equally slowly before raising his face to look at the elf. She is immediately struck by how sad his eyes are.

"Nessa," he says quietly as a blush creeps up his neck and over his cheeks, "where are my clothes?"

&&&&&&&

Nathyrra stomps back to their gear at the other end of the passage. Her sensitive ears pick up the sound of a quiet conversation in the cave, so she peeks her head around to see what sort of fun the bard is having with Valen now.

She frowns when she sees the expressions on their faces, especially his. It would seem that stupid bard has gone and done something really idiotic this time. "I cannot believe she cleared his mind. Sure, now that SHE has had HER fun. Selfish little wench." The drow mentally inventories her scrolls again, wondering if she has one that will actually turn the other woman into a hamster.

&&&&&&&

Burg and Deekin are laughing it up as the devil tells Deekin about a particularly nasty demon who got his comeuppance during a battle to which they were both summoned on Toril. "Hmmmmm…" thinks Deekin to himself.

"Hey, Burg," the kobold says. "Yes, my scaly companion. What is it?" The kobold smirks at his own good fortune. "Devils and demons hates each other, rights?" Burg nods cheerfully to his newfound friend. "We are supposed to, yes. Why?"

&&&&&&&

Nessa feels an answering blush overtaking her features and turns away. "Um…when...ah…we finally caught up with you, you were in this cave, swimming. Your…um…clothes are under you."

He frowns. "I was swimming? Was there…um….anyone else here?" He looks so hopeful Nessa feels herself on the verge of tears. She just can't look at him. "No," she answers quietly. "There wasn't."

"Oh," he replies, his voice barely above a whisper. He returns his face to his hands and speaks so quietly, he is clearly talking to himself. "It must have been a dream."

They sit in awkward silence for a few minutes until Valen speaks to her again. "Go away." Nessa gasps in surprise, "E-excuse me?" she replies. He sighs deeply. "I'm sorry. Can you give me a minute? I need to…um…get dressed." Valen looks at her critically. "Your hair is wet."

"Oh hell," Nessa thinks to herself. "We were…ah…worried you were going to drown, so I got…um…elected to go pull you out of the water," she answers as she moves to stand. Her legs are still weak from her earlier strenuous activity, so she moves slowly.

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise and his blush deepens. "Oh," he responds. "Your movements are stiff…did I…um…hurt you?"

She blushes so much she imagines she is glowing in the dark. "No, you didn't hurt me, Valen," she responds with a hoarse whisper.

With that, she walks back to passage, not sure how she is going to stop herself from telling him the truth.

&&&&&&&&

When Valen is relatively sure he is alone, he stands and starts to gather his clothes. Scattered among them are items that are very clearly not his. He blushes again as he realizes that the bard must have stripped to get into the water to retrieve him. Nathyrra's isn't the only sensitive nose in the group and as he begins donning his clothes, Valen wrinkles his. "Certainly, not," he thinks to himself.

He picks up Nessa's shirt and gives it a sniff. There is no mistaking what he finds. He turns his violet gaze to the passage, wondering what REALLY happened.

&&&&&&&&

Nathrrya decides that it will be more fun to torture the elf, and while she's at it, the tiefling too. Grinning to herself, she goes off the find the elf. She corners Nessa in the dark hallway sitting on a rock, trying to decide what to do. Just as Nessa decides that she should tell the Seer and let her sort it out, Nathrrya taps her foot to make herself known.

Nessa looks up to see the evilly grinning drow and sighs heavily, "What do you want?"

Nathrrya arches a brow at her, "I want someone to carry my pack."

Nessa, already struggling under the weight of her own gear and some of Valens, shakes her head.

Nessa grimaces, "I don't think I can. Are you hurt?"

Nathrrya laughs quietly, "Not as hurt as you'll be when I tell him what you did."

Nessa's eyes go wide as she contemplates what her next move ought to be.

&&&&&&&


	7. Backfire

Deekin, who was heading over to check on Nessa, hides behind a rock and takes in the whole conversation. With Burg to protect him, he can finally afford to ignore Nathrrya's threats.

He waits until Nathrrya's walked past him before clearing his throat, "You dos anything to Boss and I tells them both. What you thinks Valen does to you then?"

Nathrrya considers if she could take the tiefling in single combat and decides that it's not worth the risk. Inwardly, she gnashes her teeth in frustration but decides that what the kobold doesn't know, he can't get upset over.

She can find other ways to milk that stupid cow.

She grins at the kobold, "I thought you didn't like the stinky goat man and that something had to be done."

Deekin looks at her hesitantly and nods, "So, creepy drow lady, whats you got in mind?"

Nathrrya crouches down and begins whispering the kobold's ear.

After a while she stops and he frowns at her, "What makes you thinks that work? Nothing else you does works. Burg says you's…in…incompetent."

Nathrrya turns around and stomps off, speculating on exactly how the kobold ought to meet the most painful end possible.

&&&&&&&

Nessa sits with her pack in hand, on a rock, wondering what to do next. Nathrrya means to blackmail her and Nessa's not sure what she can do about it. She decides to go talk to Deekin about it. Gathering up her things, she goes off to find Deekin deep in conversation with Burg. She frowns at him, "Deekin, who's this?"

Deekin grins, "This be Burg."

Nessa rolls her eyes, "Deekin what you are doing with a devil?"

Deekin's grin only grows, "Creepy drow lady summons him, but she…"

Burg turns to her and gives her a disturbing smile. When he speaks, his urbane voice is quite soothing. He snorts out another cloud of brimstone with a light chuckle, "Ah….what my little friend means to say is that she muffed the binding ritual, leaving me free in the prime. It's really quite delightful here. Since our scaly companion has neglected to make proper introductions, I would assume that you are Nessa."

Nessa nods hesitantly.

With a graceful gesture at Deekin, he continues, "Good…your little friend here has been quite concerned about you. He fears that this "goat man" will hurt you. However, you appear to be quite unharmed. Why don't you tell me about this goat man? I'm assuming that he's some sort of a tiefling."

Nessa bites her lip, "Well, he's a tanar'ri."

Burg gives Deekin a sidelong glance, "So that's why you were asking me about the Blood War." Burg gestures at Nessa, "Please continue…sorry to have interrupted you. You were saying…"

Nessa takes a deep breath and launches into a description of the days events as she knows them. Given what Deekin's already told him, Burg quickly assembles a fairly accurate picture. When Nessa gets to the part about Nathrrya blackmailing her, Burg laughs loudly. Nessa stops, shocked suddenly.

Burg shakes his head, "No wonder you mortals sign our contracts….Let me spell this out for you. What do you think Valen would do to Nathrrya if he knew she spiked his food in the first place?"

Nessa's eyes get big, "She wouldn't….besides I ate some of it and I'm fine."

Burg shakes his head, "Think carefully…did it come out the same cook pot?"

Nessa starts to speak and her eyes go wide. She thinks for a moment and then lowers her head. After a long moment, all that can be heard is a very soft, "No." She looks up at the devil, eyes blazing, "Gods! I've been such a fool."

Burg nods, "Yes, but now your eyes have been opened. The solution to your dilemma is that you tell Nathrrya to pike off. If she tries to black mail you, you'll spill everything to Valen and let him deal with her." Burg gives her a confidential wink and puts a friendly hand on her arm, "I've seen what vengeful tanar'ri do. She won't like it."

Deekin looks at Nessa, pouting, "Deekin not likes goat man. Goat man all big and musclely and mean."

&&&&&&

Valen finishes dressing and decides that he probably ought to return Nessa's things to her. He gathers everything and tucks it under his arm. Heading back down the passage, he sighs heavily, missing Lairani.

He stops for a moment, just before stepping out into the main cavern and wipes at his eyes. He can see Nessa some distance way talking to Deekin and someone else, who he assumes is Nathrrya. Squaring his shoulders, he marches forward. He can hear Nessa's voice and as he approaches the words become clear.

&&&&&&

Nessa crouches next to Deekin and hugs him tightly, "Deekin, he's really not that bad. He's been hurt a lot so he tries to keep everyone at a distance. Valen's way of doing that is by being…prickly. Do you remember those cactus pears in the desert? All prickly on the outside but sweet and juicy on the inside? It's kind of like that."

Deekin glares at her, "Goat man is mean to everyone. Mean to little Deekin. Mean to you, too. Deekin not knows why you likes him."

Nessa tries again to explain it, "Deekin, Valen isn't like that, really. He doesn't make friends because he doesn't want to get hurt again. I think that if you give him a chance…"

Deekin shakes his head, "Deekin not cares what you say. Deekin not likes him."

Nessa shrugs, "Well, Deekin…I do like him. I like him quite a bit and I want to you make an effort to be nicer to him."

Deekin stands up glaring at Nessa, "Yes, I sees how much you _likes _him. Deekin not likes him."

&&&&&&

Valen's head cocks to the side as his memory is tripped and his mouth opens in a silent "O". He sucks in a sharp breath as he replays a portion of his very fuzzy memories of the past few hours.

Swallowing hard, Valen starts to approach when Burg squeals in fright and pops out of sight, teleporting away. Valen stops for a moment, but decides that perhaps he frightened Nathrrya.

Frowning, he comes closer, moving slowly to give them a chance to react to his sudden presence. Chewing on his lip, he considers the conversation that he's overhead. It would seem that the elf, according to her own admission, does indeed harbor some sort of feelings for him after all.

He examines his own behavior and groans inwardly, "Gods! I've been a perfect ass. No wonder Deekin doesn't like me." "Still," he reminds himself, "all of that will have to wait until this current…mess gets sorted out."

Approaching the pair, he thrusts the bundle of clothing at Nessa, "I brought you your things. They are…dirty. You might want to wash them soon."

He blushes furiously and for a moment Nessa's heart almost leaps out of her chest. For a split second, she's absolutely certain that he knows and then the moment is gone.

He sighs heavily and sits next to the kobold, "I have been so intent on keeping Nessa safe and on following the Seer's orders that I think I might have been a bit harsh with you. I have been on this mission at the Seer's behest, following her orders. I think that needs to change."

He rolls to his knees, places his flail before him, and genuflects to Nessa as he presses his head to the floor of the cavern at her feet. When he speaks, his voice is laden with an emotion that the elf can't place.

He begins hesitantly, "If you would like to have me at your side, I am yours to command." Nessa blushes hotly, considering exactly what she'd like to command him to do. She struggles for a moment to regain her composure before reaching down and tapping his shoulder.

He rises up and rocks back onto his heels, looking at her face expectantly. She smiles and nods at him. He heaves a sigh and a slow smile spreads across his face in response. Still smiling he says, "Good…now I am here at your request and I will follow your orders."

Nessa laughs, "Your first one is to smile more. It suits you." Nessa blushes for a moment, "Deekin and I have most of your gear. We picked it up when you ran off. We thought you might want it back."

Valen stands and pats Nessa on her shoulder, who winces and grimaces. He frowns, concerned, "Are you hurt? You should let me take a look at that." Before she can protest, he spins her and lifts he collar of her shirt, to reveal a bandage on her shoulder.

A small amount of blood spots the gauze, where the pressure of his hand has reopened the wound. Nessa grabs the collar and pulls it back up. She says, more harshly than she intended, "It nothing. Just a scratch."

Valen stands there, wondering, when a truly terrible thought occurs to him. He swallows heavily, with a sinking feeling. "Why is she so intent on making everything seem normal? Oh…Gods! Surely not…." Before Valen can say anything else, Nessa flops down on the ground and starts pulling his gear out of her pack.

Nathrrya wanders up to find the three of them sitting around sorting out their packs. She approaches cautiously and looks Valen over before sitting down as well. Nathrrya grins at Nessa, "I think I have some of his gear in my pack as well. Would you fetch it for me?"

Nessa shrugs, "I'm busy…you can get it yourself. Deekin might help you though." Nathrrya gestures at Deekin. Deekin looks to Nessa for confirmation and, at Nessa's nod, gets a toothy grin. He might not be making smelly goat man leave, but needling Nathrrya is quickly becoming his new favorite pastime.

&&&&&&&

As the pair strides off into the darkness, Valen takes another deep breath. "Nessa, might we speak," he says hoarsely. "I need to ask you something." She feels a sudden weight in the pit of her stomach and swallows heavily.

"What is it?" she asks slowly. He exhales quickly as if his very breath would force out his query. "I don't remember what happened when I was…um…swimming and…" She looks in his face and sees great concern in his eyes.

He grimaces and takes another deep breath. "It's quite obvious something happened between us. I have to know…did I…um….force you?" His grimace deepens and he closes his eyes tightly, as if afraid of her answer.

She is so surprised by his question that she can't answer immediately. Her eyes grow large in shock and, although she opens her mouth, no sound comes out at first. Mistaking her silence for an affirmative answer, Valen's chin drops to his chest and he covers his face with his hands.

"My lady, I…." he begins. Before he can get any further, she is kneeling with him and taking his hands. Then he hears her chuckling softly and he raises his eyes to meet hers. "No, Valen, you did no such thing."

It is his turn to be rendered speechless, so she continues, blushing furiously as she tires to explain just what did happen between them at the pool. She squeezes his hands and takes a deep breath before plunging in a second time.

She bites her lip, uncertain as to the best way to phrase it. "Some bard you are," she chides herself mentally, "You can't even tell him what the two of you were doing." Realizing that she will have to find a way, she stumbles into her explanation. "Yes….we did…you…uhhh….are…um…quite persuasive….so….ahhh…yes….something did happen," she blushes. "And it was wonderful. I had no idea you could be so warm and sweet. I don't regret it at all and neither should you."

She stops, pretty sure she has already said entirely too much and afraid of his reaction. His face colors to match the red of his hair and he reaches out to gently pull her to him. "Then what cloudy memory I have is generally right, but it was you?" She nods hesitantly. He hugs her a little tighter, then bends to kiss her softly. "Thank you, my lady," he whispers.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&


	8. Past Deeds

When they are some distance from the campsite, Deekin grins at Nathrrya, "So…hows you plan now?" Nathrrya has to stop herself from snatching the kobold up by the neck and throttling him.

Deekin grins, "Burg say that if you best of Red Sisters, Valsharess surely DOOMED!...Oh, yeah…Boss says to give you message." Nathrrya, wondering what treat the elf has in store for her, looks at him expectantly, "Ah…what is the message?"

Deekin flashes her a rude hand gesture, waggles his tongue at her and says, "Pike off!" Nathrrya can feel her world crashing in, "WH….WH….WHAT? Doesn't she know what I'll do?"

Deekin grins, "Boss says you breathe a word and she tells Valen who spiked his food. Boss lets Valen deal with yous." Deekin turns around and trots back to camp, laughing to himself.

He rounds the corner of the passage and comes upon Nessa and Valen kissing. "BOSS!" he shrieks in exasperation. "Me thinking you and goat-man maybe get room or something because me getting tired of seeing you do THAT. Ewwwww!"

He hears soft female chuckling coming from somewhere near Valen's chest. "Goat-man, you lets Boss go. She not be able to breathe in there." The tiefling gives the kobold a large smile as he relaxes his arms from around Nessa and sighs cheerfully. "Get used to it kobold. I intend to be kissing your Boss quite often," he blushes and glances at Nessa. "If she wants me to." Still trying to regain her breath, she nods happily.

Deekin rolls his eyes and sits down with his pack to look for an apple. "That just be GROSS." He finds his apple and takes a big bite as he glares at Nessa. "Deekin see this before. Hear about others, too. Boss be REAL friendly, right Boss?"

Nessa's mouth gapes as the kobold continues. "First you date those brothers at school. All three of them. Then you smooch with that ranger guy. Then he dump you and you hang out with that short thief. Deekin REALLY not likes him. He always be taking things. Then you see druid by other school and other short guy who drink too much. Oh! Then there be two guys who think you be some crazy god OW or something. Now, goat-man." Deekin waves his hand dismissively in Valen's direction as he finishes itemizing Nessa's relationships. "Creepy drow lady hit on boss, too, but she be too busy watching goat-man's swishy tail to notice."

Nessa is, once again, rendered speechless. She is having a hard time remembering when she has been so humiliated and angry. As her voice tries to make its way out of her mouth, she hears Valen laughing heartily.

"Finally, you provide entertainment, kobold," he says. "I assure you that I am the last person who would judge another by such things." He looks over at the still-speechless Nessa and chuckles. "Close your mouth, dear." She does as instructed and just looks at him. He laughs again. "I'm not your first. You're not mine, so don't worry about it."

The bard slings her pack over her shoulder in anger. "Let's just go," she snarls and stomps in Nathyrra's direction. The two elves meet and give each other appraising glances.

Nathyrra speaks first. "I will scout ahead and return with a report. Watch for my mark to follow the trail." Nessa nods curtly. "Fine." The drow nods back and disappears into the shadows.

&&&&&&&&

Nathyrra has had just about enough of the other three members of the group. That stupid moon elf has gotten on her last nerve and don't even get her started on the kobold. She's outnumbered and outmaneuvered. "Maybe it's time to call a truce," she thinks. The time scouting alone will be put to good use as she contemplates her course of action.

She leaves the passage and comes into a large cavernous area. There appears to be a bridge mechanism, but she doesn't need it and levitates across. "They'll figure it out," she muses as she lands on the other side and disappears once again into the shadows.

She creeps forward slowly and hears voices. Quickly casting an invisibility spell, she levitates again. Looking down, she sees a small contingent of drow. One of them looks quite familiar. She knows him to be an exceptionally skilled assassin, but the other members of his group are clearly much less skilled. "The other three won't have any trouble with this group," she concludes and decides to continue on. She grins to herself, "And if they do, so much the better. As long as the little blue haired freak makes it, the Seer will get over the other two."

Nathyrra comes to a cave and cautiously steps in. She is immediately confronted by three beholders. Slinging spells and wielding her handheld crossbow, she takes down two of them. The third is severely injured when everything suddenly goes black. "Vith…," she thinks, and knows no more.

&&&&&&&&

Nessa, Valen and Deekin follow Nathyrra's trail without much trouble. Her marks are pretty easy to spot, if you know what to look for. They come to the bridge and, through trial, error, and some electrical zapping, finally figure out the puzzle to make the bridge appear. The trio continues to follow the path and walks right into the ambush laid by the Valsharess' assassins.

One of the assassins, Eldath, Eldish, or some such, goes on about how they are all going to die. Quite boring and predictable, really. Nessa and Valen look at each other and shrug, content to Eldath ramble while Nessa stealthily prepares a few extra spells.

Deekin listens, hoping something juicy might come up to put in his story. Finally, the kobold speaks up. "Yous going to keep talkings or yous going to try to kills us now? You's not very good material for Deekin's book. Deekin bored. Deekin votes that we be killing you and moving on."

With a dark chuckle, Valen leaps for the speaker while the two bards use their spells and missile weapons to neutralize the others. In a matter of minutes, all foes are dispatched and the trio is pocketing some pretty nice loot.

Nessa looks down at Eldath's armor. "I can't wear it, Valen. Do you want it?" The tiefling looks down at the now-bloody, but undamaged armor and frowns. "It's tacky, ugly, and not my size," he says simply. "No thanks." Nessa chuckles as she beckons her friends to follow her. "You're right, it is." Deekin shrugs since it looks valuable and stuffs it into one of his magic bags.

"Boss!" cries Deekin. Nessa turns to her faithful kobold companion. "Yes, Deekin?" she responds. "How far ahead you think creepy drow lady be? You think she know about those we just fight?" Nessa frowns as she considers the question. "It's possible they came up after she passed by, Deekin," she replies. "But it's also possible she knew we'd have no problem with them and decided to continue on. Either way, we're all okay, right?"

Deekin gives his boss a toothy grin. "Yep. We be all okay, Boss!"

Nessa and Valen, not having the privacy to talk to each other, walk along lost in their respective thoughts. Deekin looks around as they continue on the path, hoping to find things to add into his epic. As the group follows Nathyrra's markings, they cautiously enter a cave.

Almost immediately, they are attacked by a beholder. Making short work of it, they begin to look around the room. The elf and tiefling are in different areas of the room and they hear Deekin call out, "Whoohoo! Creepy drow lady get stoned!"

The other two turn around and quickly move to Deekin's side. In front of them is a statue that looks exactly like Nathyrra in the middle of casting a spell. "Oh no!" Nessa groans as she reaches out to touch the statue. "That beholder turned her to stone. That's damned inconvenient." Deekin raps on the statue, "Hmmmm…Deekin thinks it not happen to more deserving person. Creepy drow lady not so smart now.:"

Valen raises his eyebrows in mild amusement and turns to look at Nessa. "Inconvenient, my lady? I imagine that is a mild understatement." The bard smiles at him. "I have a spell to restore her, but I don't have it memorized. We'll need to rest before I can cast it." Deekin shakes his head, "Creepy drow lady makes nice coat rack. Maybe leaves her likes this?"

Nessa frowns at Deekin, "Deekin, that's not very nice. She wouldn't leave you like that and we certainly can't leave her this way either." Deekin gives her a skeptical look, "Hah! Yes, we cans. It be very easy. We just keeps going, Maybe sends someone back for her later." Nessa levels a finger at Deekin, "How many times would it have been easier for me to go off and leave you? I didn't, though, did I? Now, we'll make camp here and I'll see what I can do for her in the morning."

The tiefling nods his assent. "That's fine. This area looks fairly secure. I'm pretty tired and would welcome some rest. Let's have the kobold take first watch, then I'll take second. You take last watch and cast the spell so that Nathyrra can rest after she is restored."

The bards agree and the trio sets up camp. Traditionally, Valen would have set up his bedroll on the other side of the fire from Nessa, but she notices as he sets up next to her. He sees the direction of her gaze and looks at her expectantly. "Do you mind?" he inquires quietly. She smiles and says she does not.

Nessa starts a fire and pot of water for tea. They break out the travel rations and begin to eat their evening meal. After they eat, they bank the fire and Deekin sets up his watch. Nessa stretches out and immediately falls fast asleep.

Valen stays awake for a little while longer, staring into the fire and thinking quietly to himself. Finally, his day catches up to him and he cannot keep his eyes open. "Goodnight, Deekin," he calls. The kobold spins his head around, shocked that the weapon master actually used his name. Deekin stammers back, "G…Goodnight, Valen."

Valen looks over and sees the elf sleeping soundly. He smiles gently at her. "She told me she loves me," he muses. Still smiling, he stretches out and wraps his arms around her.

Finally finding himself alone, Deekin is able to give in to his curiosity. He tiptoes over to the Nathyrra-statue and taps it again, checking to see if there's any movement. It's solid and unyielding rock.


	9. Blood Feud

He chuckles to himself with glee as he trots silently back to his pack. Digging quietly, he finds his chalk and returns to the statue. Grinning to himself, he starts coloring. Finally, when he's done, he steps back to admire his handiwork.

Her face and hands are colored red, which is about the color she'll be once she's un-stoned. He's turned the drow in a work of graffiti that would befit the lowest of brothels. Every female attribute is emphasized to the full extent of the six colors that Deekin has available, including glowing "headlights" on her chest and an "entry" sign on her behind.

Scattered amongst the pointing arrows and concentric circles, he's added a few words of draconic, here and there, including one across her forehead. Deekin darts in a few more times to add little finishing touches here and there, including a "puddle" of yellow chalk that runs down one leg and ends between her feet.

When he's done, Deekin goes and sketches the whole scene into his notes for his next book. Once that's complete, he wanders over and looks at Valen and Nessa. Deekin shakes his head, "Gah! Boss and goat man be spooning."

Deekin toes Valen, who wakes instantly. Moving carefully so as not to wake Nessa, he disentangles himself, and rolls to face Deekin. Deekin grins at him, "It be your watch, goat man." Valen nods but his eyes travel to the Nathrrya statue on the other side of the fire.

Deekin watches with amusement as Valen bites down on his lip nearly hard enough to draw blood. Even still a half-stifled snort makes its way out of the tiefling. Deekin just gives him a toothy grin and hands him the chalk, "You can adds what you likes…"

Valen sets the chalk aside and looks at the kobold carefully, seeing him, seeing almost everything in a new light. "Deekin, I'd like us to be friends," he begins hesitantly, "since I think we might be seeing a lot of each other. If nothing else, we should at least be friendly with each other for her sake." Deekin cocks his head and flashes another toothy grin at the tiefling. "Yous not worry about me," as he gestures toward Nathrrya, "Yous gots bigger problems."

With that cryptic statement, the kobold heads to his own bedroll and turns in. Valen, still staring at Deekin's artwork dresses quickly, chortling to himself. He moves quietly, so as not to wake anyone and puts the chalk down by Deekin's pack. He strolls around the decorated statue, marveling at the kobold's…"No," he corrects himself, Deekin's inventiveness. "If his career as a bard ever peters out," Valen muses, "there's certainly a career waiting for him in brothel advertising."

His watch passes uneventfully so he decides to gather some wood to build up their fire before he wakes Nessa. He brings back several dry branches and begins feeding them into the banked embers from the night before. As the new braches begin to catch, Valen muses into the flickering tongues of flame. He glances at the sleeping elf out of the corner of his eye and smiles in satisfaction.

Once he's certain that she'll have a fire when she wakes, he stretches back out on his bedroll to wake her properly. Moving slowly so as not to wake her, he pulls her to him, turning her to face. He smiles down at her as she sighs happily and murmurs in her sleep. He purrs as she nestles against him, pleased that she responds to him so easily.

He leans in and nuzzles her ear softly, "Nessa… Nessa… It's morning…" "Mmmmph…," the elf murmurs sleepily as she tries to turn away. He chuckles softly as he pulls her closer and kisses her tenderly. Her eyes fly open as he nibbles gently on her lower lip and at first, she's not sure what's happening. As soon as she realizes, she melts into his embrace. He feels her stiffen as she wakes and sighs as he feels her quickly relax.

After a few moments, he releases her and pulls back a bit. He watches, smiling, as her eyes flutter open and an answering smile spreads across her face. She blushes and giggles quietly, "So, do you plan on waking me like that all the time?" Suddenly becoming very serious, he leans in, nose to nose with her. "Every morning that you will let me," he says huskily.

Nessa sighs happily at this and snuggles closer, into his warmth. He chuckles softly, "Are you cold? I've built the fire back up." "A little, but I don't really want to move just yet." Valen grins at her as he rolls, putting her between himself and the fire. He's rewarded with a contented sigh from Nessa, as she soaks up the extra warmth gratefully.

Knowing that his hands are cold, he sneakily slides them inside her bed roll. He feels for her, grinning as he gooses her with cold hands. She squeals a bit and wriggles frantically, shifting away from his hands.

He laughs softly, continuing to poke her until she relents. She rolls her eyes, as she swats at his hands. "Very well…I'll get up." She reaches over him and grabs her clothing, as he swats at her affectionately.

She snatches her things and rolls back, as she starts to turn around to get dressed, as she does, she gets a good look at Nathrrya. Her mouth hangs open as Valen chuckles. He reaches up with a gentle finger and pushes her lower jaw back into position.

"Did you do this," she growls at him angrily. Valen only chuckles and shakes his head before pointing to Deekin. "I did not. Your little friend managed quite nicely, all on his own. Now I see why you keep him around. He's quite…amusing, don't you think," he says with a sardonic gleam in his eye.

Nessa shakes her head and sits with her face in her hands for a long moment. When she looks up, her face is filled with fear and despair. "Nessa, dear, what's wrong?" he inquires quietly. She looks ready to cry and when she speaks her voice is thick, "We can't even work together. How are we going to stop this Valsharess person?"

Valen laughs and wraps his arms around her, "Steady… This is a new group. We've not spent much time in each other's company. These things have a way of sorting themselves out. Why…when I was in the Abyss…."

He launches into a story about sorting out his own chain of command issues. Nessa sits, in the protective circle of his arms, only half listening. The calm, slightly amused aura that he radiates does more to soothe her than his words.

"So, you see," he chuckles, "this really isn't all that bad. Now go see what you can do about that cloak rack we call Nathrrya." Nessa giggles a bit at his description but stands, preparing to cast the spell. As she readies the spell, Valen moves into position to restrain her.

Nessa finishes her spell and Nathrrya reverts almost instantly. More through rote reflex than anything, Nathrrya also finishes her spell. A fireball sizzles right over Deekin's sleeping head and slams into the wall behind him.

Waking with a squeak, Deekin is convinced that he's under attack by the drow and activates his ring. Burg pops into existence next to the startled kobold and looks around. Deekin scrambles into a position behind Burg, "You gots to help Deekin. Creepy drow lady tries to roast Deekin."

Nessa is helping Nathrrya toward her own recently vacated bedroll. Valen, on the other side of the cave, is busy stomping out a few small fires where the lichen is burning thanks to Nathrrya's fireball. Burg turns and looks at the kobold, "I say, little one, I don't really see any danger here. She doesn't look like she's in any shape to do too much roasting."

Burg, who hasn't gotten a good look at Valen yet, points, "You there, old chap…can you tell me what's going on here? My little friend seems to be quite upset." Valen, unsure of this new arrival, stalks forward, with his hand straying toward the hilt of his flail.

As he steps into the devil's range of vision, Burg's breathing becomes ragged and he gasps, "Damn….tanar'ri….blood…war." Burg extends his claws reflexively and and summons his glaive. Valen is also feeling the effects of being in such close proximity to a bateezu and backs up quickly.

Once Valen backs away, Burg dismisses his glaive and sits down next to Deekin. He gives him a wry look, "You keep some odd company, little friend. I know that you said that you said you had a tanar'ri with you, but I had hoped NOT to meet him." Burg calls to Valen, where he hovers in the darkness, eyes glowing. "I do apologize, old chap, but the blood war and all makes it bloody hard to be civilized. I'd offer you some Styx tea, but that's probably not the best idea."

Nessa crosses the cave quickly to Valen and looks up at him with concern. "Are you all right?" Without thinking, he shoves her behind him, "Stay back, Nessa. I'll deal with this." Nessa tugs at his arm again, "Really, Valen…it's alright." Valen, shifting his attention to her for a moment, shouts at her, "There is a DEVIL in our camp. It/s NOT alright."

Nessa tugs at him again,"Valen, listen to me carefully. It's alright. He's a friend of Deekin's. He's actually pretty nice. He's much nicer than Nathrrya." After a few seconds, what she's said clicks and Valen turns to her, "What do you mean?" Nessa shrugs, "I've talked to him. He's…not bad for a devil, if you can get past that brimstone breath of his."

Valen, exasperated, shouts, "WHERE IN THE NAME OF THE NINE HELLS DID HE COME FROM?" Burg chuckles, wafting brimstone into the cave, "Maladomini, if you must know. Still, I think that's not what you were asking. Nathrrya summoned me and muffed the binding. You know she's one of…_those_…"

Valen, in spite of himself, gives a knowing snicker. At Nessa's puzzled look, he quickly stops. Burg looks about for a moment and elbows Deekin, "You know, I quite approve of what you've.done. Nice decorative piece. She'll certainly be less trouble, like that."


	10. Tea Time

Just as the situation starts to get quite tense, a deep rumbling snore sounds from the other side of the fire. All four of them turn their heads to look toward Nathyrra's borrowed bedroll in amazement. Nessa chokes back a loud burst of laughter. "I can't wait to tell her she snores. She'll never believe it," she chuckles. She points at Valen. "She's commented that _you _sound like a bull rothe when you snore." Pointing at Deekin, she continues, "and YOU sound like an impaled myconid or somesuch."

Relaxing in spite of Burg's presence, Valen pokes at Nessa. "Really? At least it's a _bull_ rothe. Well, my lady, most of us here have heard you snoring as well. I believe 'piglet' would be an appropriate comparison, don't you, Deekin?" Deekin laughs loudly, happy to be sharing jokes around the campfire. Nessa collapses into a fit of giggles as the tiefling tickles her mercilessly.

Burg is pleased that the group has relaxed. He would much rather enjoy good company and a spot of tea than have to go slaughter things on someone's command. "Barbaric, really," he thinks to himself.

"I say, you there, tiefling," Burg begins. "I'd like to properly introduce myself. I am Oikkaburgett and I would be pleased if you would call me Burg. I don't think we have to be enemies here, with The War so far off. Would you be willing to share your name?"

Valen pauses from tickling Nessa and looks toward the devil. "I agree, Burg. I am Valen Shadowbreath and pleased to meet you." At the mention of the tiefling's name, Burg scoots back and his normally brown skin pales to a sickly gray. "Y-Y-Y-YOU are…um….V-V-Valen Sh-sh-shadowbreath?" He swallows hard and struggles to regain his composure. "I have…um…..heard of you, my lord. My apologies for disturbing you. I'll go now." The devil rises clumsily to his feet. Valen's face takes on a chagrined expression as he extends his hand toward Burg in a placating gesture. "Please, Burg. Sit. You are welcome here." Burg isn't making much progress on leaving anyway, so he sits back down heavily.

Deekin looks at his friend in shock. "What be big deal? He just goat-man. He be moody and crabby sometimes, but he be very handy for squishing things."

Burg turns his wide, glazed eyes toward Deekin. "You really don't know who he is, do you?"

Valen interrupts quietly. "Hey, Burg? Ya know, some Styx tea sounds pretty good about now. I haven't had any in ages and I think some would hit the spot. Can you whip some up?" The effect on the devil is immediate. He hops up and gives a hasty bow toward the weapon master. "Of course, my lord. Right away. I'll be right back."

Nessa is watching this exchange with great interest. Her bardic instincts tell her there is a great story here somewhere but she is also quite curious about this man she is falling in love with. Who is he? Who WAS he? It looks like a private interview with that devil might be in order.

The moon elf turns to Valen with a sweet smile as she pokes him in the ribs. "Valen, are you trying to forget me so soon? You realize you lose all memory if you drink from the river Styx." He chuckles as he wraps his arm around her to pull her into her lap. He kisses her speechless then pulls back with a smile. "That only happens to you primes. For denizens of the Abyss, it's actually quite the delicacy."

Burg pops back into camp holding a steaming mug in each hand. He hands one to Valen, who points at a small twig poking out of the cup. He looks surprised as he asks, "Is that from a blood willow?" The devil smiles, "Yessir, it is. Is that okay?" The tiefling smiles and nods as he stirs his tea with the stick. His tea begins to take on a reddish tinge. He sniffs and sighs contentedly, "Oh yes indeed."

"Comforts from home are always nice," Burg replies as he sips his tea. Valen nods and growls something softly to Burg as he arches a brow at the devil. "What happened in the Abyss, stays in the Abyss," he says in bateezu. "Got it?" Burg blanches slightly and nods. "Of course, my lord," he responds in kind.

Valen takes a sip of his tea and inhales deeply. He smiles at Burg. "You make a damn fine cup of tea, my friend. Thank you for this treat." The tea is gone in a few more sips and Valen hands the cup back. "That was delicious." The tiefling stifles a yawn and looks at Nessa. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to try to get some more sleep. Wake me when Nathyrra wakes up, okay?" "Sure," she replies. With that, the tiefling returns to his bedroll and is soon sleeping peacefully.

Nessa looks skeptically at the devil. "What did you put in it?" she demands. Burg's expression is pure innocence. "Nothing, I swear it." The bard doesn't look convinced and she glares at him, her hand on her hips. "Honestly, Nessa, I didn't do anything at all. He's had a really long day, don't you think? If you had such a day and someone brought you a taste from home, don't you think it would relax you?" She appears to be considering his words when he speaks again. "Besides, that is _Valen Shadowbreath._ There are songs and epics written about him by bards all over the Abyss. He is a LEGEND. When I tell my friends that I can hang around him, without getting killed, that's going to be quite the feather in my cap, I must say."

Deekin is listening to Burg's conversation with Nessa. "Um, Burg?" "Yes, Deekin?" replies the devil. "Friends be devils, right?" Burg nods as Deekin continues. "You tells devils that famous tanar'ri be here, won't they want to come here to get him?"

Burg looks thoughtful for a moment before nodding again. "You are right, my friend. I had not considered that. Very well, I won't say a word to my friends." Nessa sighs in relief. "Thank you, Burg. I would rather….not lose him," she finishes quietly. The devil nods and puts his arm around her shoulder. "I understand, dear. He is very…special. No doubt about that."

Nessa nods silently as Burg goes to sit down next to Deekin. The two of them immediately start chuckling as Deekin reaches for his notebook and pen. The elf looks to the other side of the fire to see that Valen has flopped onto his stomach and is fast asleep, his tail twitches in his slumber. Nathyrra looks rather uncomfortable, so Nessa goes to cover the drow with a blanket.

Burg looks up to see Nessa taking care of Nathyrra. "She's a sweet girl, isn't she?" he asks Deekin, who nods. "Yes, Boss be real nice. Not brightest torch in the hallway, but real nice to little Deekin." The kobold frowns slightly. "Too nice to goat-man, though."

The devil nods his head in understanding. "Yes, the tanar'ri tend to be a rather surly lot. If even half the stories I've heard are true, this one is especially mercurial." Deekin gripped his pen with excitement as he sensed a good story coming on. "How you spell that?" Burg spells it for him and Deekin writes it down carefully.


	11. Tales

Nessa flops down next to Burg, "So tell me what you know about Valen?"

Burg shakes his head, "He's got quite the reputation, you know. Still, it isn't my place to say."

Nessa quietly casts a Charm Person and follows it with a Sense Thoughts. The only give away is that she's humming a bit under her breath. Deekin narrows his eyes at Nessa, but decides that Boss knows best.

Nessa smiles at Burg, "Do you think you might tell me something? Something small, something he wouldn't mind."

Burg thinks for a while, sorting through the stories that he knows and discarding them one by one. "It won't do to make him angry," he thinks. He's missed the pale shaky look on Nessa's face as she catches snippets of each tale as he considers and discards them.

Finally he decides to tell the elf about the tiefling in broad general and rather edited terms. "Still," he muses, "the elf seems nice. I should probably work in a bit of a warning." Nessa catches that as well and frowns into the fire.

Burg makes himself comfortable and settles in for a nice chat. "Well," starts hesitantly, "he's known for having his mood change pretty quickly. Which is saying something amongst the tanar'ri."

Burg turns to the bard, not sure how much lore she knows about infernals. "Tanar'ri are creatures of chaos, you know. Everything about them is chaotic, including their emotions." He pats the elf's arm consolingly, to Nessa's puzzlement. "He's also known for his murderous rages…" At Nessa's alarmed expression, Burg adds hastily, "although that seems to have been entirely overstated. After all, I'm still alive."

Burg tries to give Nessa a reassuring smile but it only serves to unsettle her more. Having a devil _smile_ at you is never comforting. He shrugs and continues, "Our little friend is quite right about him being very handy for squishing things. He made quite a name for himself, doing exactly that."

Nessa starts trying to question Burg but Burg only shakes his head and pats her on the arm, "I think he's planning on telling you himself, in his own time. You really ought to ask him, if you want to know so badly. It's not my place to say. I've said too much already." Burg stands, pats Deekin on the head, and pops away.

Deekin shakes his head, "You makes Burg leave. Now we not finds out anything."

Nessa looks at Deekin and says softly, "No, I suppose not."

She pads around to the other side of the fire, where Valen sleeps. His face is clouded and his tail tip twitches restlessly. She crouches next to him, watching for a moment.

She reaches out and strokes his cheek gently, but it wakes him. She sucks in a sharp breath at the sight. His eyes flicker open for a moment, and they're glowing red. He takes her in and smiles. Before she can react, he throws open his bed roll and pulls her in with him.

Deekin rolls his eyes, "I goes and keeps watch." Deekin snatches up his crossbow and trots far enough away not to know what's going on in the tiefling's bed roll.

Valen shifts so that the elf is mostly supported by him. The feeling of her behind against his thigh is pleasant and that alone causes a few other things to shift of their own accord. "Once we get back to camp…" he thinks. He wraps his arms around Nessa as he buries his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. He smiles and whispers, "Nessa….," into her hair as he dozes off again.

She lays there, listening to his rhythmic breathing and it lulls her. She's still unsettled by the snippets of things that she caught from Burg. A lot of the things seem…suicidal to her. Facing an entire army of devils with only a handful of lower level tanar'ri at his back. Then there's the image in Burg's mind of Valen, battered and bloody, limping slowly through the carnage as he moves off the battlefield as the lone survivor of either side. She turns it over and over in her mind, and finally sighs as she too dozes off.

He wakes some time later, in much the same position that he was in when Nessa dozed off. A strand of her hair tickles his nose as he sighs in satisfaction at finding the elf in arms. He props himself up carefully on one elbow and looks at her sleeping face. "She's so innocent and peaceful," he chuckles to himself, "despite her snoring." Smiling tenderly, he takes a finger and delicately moves a stray strand of hair away from her eye.

He stays like that for a while, watching her sleep while he thinks. Finally, when he can't resist any more, he leans in and kisses her soundly. She can feel the rumble in his chest as he chuckles at feeling her wake and start kissing him back. He pulls back and her eyes flutter open as he smiles at her, "Every morning…"

At this Nessa's face darkens and Valen feels the first faint stirrings of alarm. "Nessa, what's wrong?" he asks with concern evident in his voice. Nessa swallows hard, "What did Burg mean when he called you mercurial?" Valen chews on his lip for a moment before laying back down. He tugs Nessa around to face him and takes both of her hands in his. "That's not what's really bothering you, is it? You're afraid I will loose interest in you, no? Tell me, if I'm wrong," he says quietly. Nessa, nearly choking on her own fear, nods helplessly.

He smiles at her, "Nessa, dear, there isn't anything to be afraid of. I don't go chasing after just anyone. I never have, even before I came to the Seer. I may have been mercurial once, but that was another lifetime. I am not what I once was. I don't know what Burg said, but you mustn't take it to heart."

Nessa sniffles a bit before she speaks, "Burg wouldn't say much about you." Valen sighs inwardly with relief at this, deciding that he owes the devil a favor. "But I cast a couple of spells and then tried to get him to talk about you. He's terrified of you and totally in awe of you. Valen…."

Valen shakes his head, "Nessa, I left all that behind when I came to the Seer. I don't want to talk about it." Nessa frowns at him, "Why don't you want to tell me? Is it that bad?" He sighs heavily and pulls her to him, "It's…painful. I don't like to think about it, much less talk about it. Nessa, I've not had anyone who was…important to me…in so very long. I don't want to be judged by my past. I've not judged you for yours. Or least by what your little friend has let slip. I…I will tell you, I promise. I'm just not ready to right now. Ok?"

Nessa still looks troubled, so he leans down and kisses her tenderly. When he's done, he nuzzles at her ear, "Nessa, my time with you has been…happy for me. Please, Nessa… I won't hurt you deliberately. Just trust me and everything will be fine. I promise." Nessa, soothed by his promises relents and nestles against him, soaking up the warmth, before she dozes off again.

He strokes her hair and kisses her forehead while she sleeps. When he looks up, Deekin is standing there with his crossbow on leaning against his shoulder. "Hello, Deekin…"

Deekin glares at him, "You hurts Boss, Deekin finds a way to get you. Deekin nots very big and nots very scary, but Deekin still finds way." With a last look at Nessa, Valen sits up and holds his hands out to Deekin in a placating gesture, "It's not like that, Deekin. I…I care for her. I don't want to hurt her. She's…," he fumbles for the words, "…really special. I think you know what I mean. You've been with her for a long time now."

Deekin nods, "Boss be really nice but not so smart. Still, Boss be really nice. Even when peoples not deserve it, Boss still be really nice. Like creepy drow lady." Deekin gives him a pointed look, "Like you. You be mean to Boss. Mean to little Deekin. Mean to everyone. Creepy drow lady deserves it. Not Boss and not Deekin and not everyone…"

Valen grimaces as he breaks in, "I…guess I've been pretty bad and you're pretty angry at me." Deekin nods so Valen continues, "Let me guess…you think I'm really bossy…" Deekin nods again and Valen sighs heavily, "I know that I come across that way, but I really am looking out for her safety." Valen looks down at her and strokes her hair for a moment. Even Deekin is surprised at the tenderness and concern on the tiefling's face as he strokes Nessa's hair.

Valen pats a spot on the ground next to him, "We should talk. Deekin, how do you think I would feel if…if something happened to her because I wasn't careful enough?" Deekin considers this and shrugs, "How much you think Boss likes you if you always be grumpy?" Valen sighs, "I'm not always grumpy."

Deekin glares at him so when he says this, that he starts laughing, "Well, maybe I am grumpy a lot, but I promise that I will be nicer to you from now on. I think that I've been better since yesterday." Deekin nods, grudgingly. Valen leans down and looks Deekin the eye, "Nessa's lucky to have a friend like you." Deekin shakes his head, "Maybe creepy drow lady should puts mushrooms in you breakfast more often. I'd say wes even. Deekin forgives you, if you forgives Deekin."

Before Valen can say anything, Deekin snatches up his crossbow and trots off into the darkness. Valen looks over where Nathrrya is still sleeping in Nessa's bed roll and frowns. "Mushrooms, eh?," he thinks, "Well, that certainly explains a few things. Like why the kobold gave me his breakfast."

He starts laughing and when Nessa wakes, she finds him sitting there, holding his sides, while laughs uncontrollably. Nessa looks at him strangely, so he stifles his laugher long enough to ask her a question. He looks down at her, the corners of his mouth still twitching, "What do you know about mushrooms?" Nessa gives him an odd look, "Umm…well, they grow in the dark," she says helpfully, "and they seem to like to grow in poo."

This statement sends Valen back into his gales of laughter while Nessa only looks on, puzzled as to the source of his humor. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, she blurts out, "What is so funny about mushrooms?" Valen grins at her, "I feel a bit like one at the moment."

Nessa stares at him slack-jawed, while he puts himself back in order. Suddenly becoming very serious, he ruffles Nessa's hair, "Why don't you go check on Deekin? I need to have a chat with Nathrrya." Nessa starts to say something, but he stands quickly and holds out a hand to her. She takes it, and he pulls her to her feet. He gives her a quick kiss, spins her to face the direction he last saw Deekin in, and gives her a friendly shove. She moves a step or two away from him, but turns back to look. Still smiling at her, he gives her a gentle swat on the behind, "Shoo! I'll come get you when I'm done talking to Nathrrya."

As soon as Nessa's out of sight, his expression changes. It's a look that Burg would recognize. "I won't have that damned drow endangering all of us with any more tricks," he swears to himself, "She's too precious to be treated so." He stomps over to where Nathrrya is snoring and nudges her with his toe. All Nathrrya does is mumble, "Nau, naut nin," and roll over. Valen's eyes narrow even more as he leans down and grabs the her by the front of her leather armor. Deciding that she needs to wake up right now, he hoists her up to his eye level and shakes her.

As he does, he gets a good full view of Deekin's decorative additions and it's all he can do to keep from grinning. Nathrrya's eyes flutter open and she finds herself nose to nose with the weapon master. It's not often a drow goes pale, but Valen's gratified to note the nice ashy color that Nathrrya turns as she takes in the expression on his face.

"So, tell me Nathrrya," he growls in abyssal, "what you know about mushrooms?" Nathrrya's eyes go wide and he knows that he has his culprit. She starts to stammer something but he shakes her again, "Don't lie to me. It was you, wasn't it?" Her eyes wide, she nods silently.

He frowns at her, "We're going to cover some ground rules. This won't take a moment. You don't do things to harm your party members. If I even think that you've done anything that might put Nessa in danger, I will deal with you myself…and I think you understand how I solve problems." She nods again slowly, secretly relieved that he hadn't killed her outright. "Good," he says coldly, "Just so that we understand each other, you're not going to take a bath or change clothes until after we get back to camp. That will be your penance." As soon as she nods in agreement, he drops her, letting her land in a heap as he turns, smiling to go find Nessa.


	12. Deal with the Devil

Chuckling to himself, Valen goes to track down Nessa and Deekin. He rounds a corner to find the two of them working out the melody for a duet. Their heads are down and they're busy picking out notes and discussing what he takes for bard things. Not wanting to interrupt, he leans against the wall of the cave and listens. To his surprise, it's actually quite good. When they reach a point where they're still working out a few bits of the song, Valen levers himself away from the wall and approaches them more closely. Deekin, not realizing that Valen has been their audience for some time, is startled to see the tiefling.

Deekin looks at him closely and frowns to himself. "At least nasty goat man," he thinks, "_looks_ happy." Valen catches Deekin's speculative look and smiles at him as he holds his hands out in a placating gesture. "I think you're right, Deekin. We're even. I will forgive you if you forgive me. Let's start over." Caught off guard by the tiefling's offer, Deekin nods hastily. Nessa looks back and forth between the two of them, just as surprised as Deekin. After a few moments, she leaps to her feet, grinning and runs to Valen.

She throws her arms around him and hugs him, delighted. Still chuckling, he hugs her back for a moment. He smiles down at her, "Will you show me what you two are working on or is it a big secret?" Nessa shrugs and looks at Deekin for confirmation. Deekin shrugs as well, so Nessa leads him back to the rock they've been sitting on. Deekin begins to play a harp and some pan pipes while Nessa sings. Valen's not sure what the words are, since the song seems to be in elven, but tune is lovely and so is Nessa's voice. He sits there listening to the song and contemplating her elven heritage. He chews on his lip while he considers that her lifespan will likely be many times his own. He shrugs, deciding that she isn't being forced to associate with him.

&&&&&&&

Nathrrya lays on the bed roll, shaking uncontrollably – first from fright and then from rage. She had been certain that the weapon master would kill her out of hand. Once her fear fades a bit, she becomes angry. "No jaluk is going to toss me around like a rag doll," she rages, "I'll teach them all." Mumbling darkly to herself, she searches through Deekin's things, looking for the ring that Burg left. Once she finds it, she quickly summons the devil. A soft pop indicates his arrival behind her. Nathrrya turns to face him, grinning evilly.

"You there, devil," she smirks, "I want revenge, and you are going to help me."

Burg chortles at this, "Listen up, old girl, I don't have to help you do anything. _You_ muffed the ritual."

"What do I have to do," she asks through gritted teeth, "to get you to help me?"

Burg considers for a moment, "Weeeell, I suppose I could draw up a contract…."

Nathrrya doesn't even hesitate, "Do it. Quickly, before I change my mind."

Burg arches a brow at her, "Are you certain? If you are, I can go fetch some of the standard forms, fill in a few blanks, and…"

Nathrrya gives him a dangerous look, "I…said…do…it…now."

Burg shrugs and pops away. He reappears a few moments later wearing a clerk's visor, half sleeves, and a pair of jeweler's magnifying glasses accompanied by an imp and several boxes of paper. He waves a sheaf of paper at her and points at the boxes, "Let me know when you're done reading it. I've been busy filling your name in all the appropriate places, except the ones where you have to sign. The imp will show you where you need to sign."

Nathrrya eyes the boxes of paper warily, "I don't have time to read all that. They'll be back here soon. Don't you have a short version?"

Burg shrugs, "It's your soul…"

He pulls out a much smaller document and waves it at Nathrrya. She flips through it quickly, not bothering to read it very well, since it looks pretty standard to her.

_**Contract between Oikkaburgett and Nathrrya**_

_**THIS AGREEMENT**, ENTERED INTO THIS 12th DAY OF Consummare, Standard Year 877462 is by and between the Baatezu, on behalf of the Baatezu represented by Oikkaburgett, (hereinafter referred to as "the party of the first part") and Nathrrya, a drow on Toril (hereinafter referred to as "the party of the second part") to be identified by a blood sample. The blood sample will be taken from the signature on this contract._

_**WITNESSETH:**_

_**WHEREAS** the party of the second part has determined that the Baatezu has the expertise to provide specific contracted services, and_

_**WHEREAS**, the party of the first part wishes to obtain certain specific valuables from the party of the second party in exchange for the aforementioned services;_

_**Section I. Terms of Mutual Agreement**_

_**NOW THEREFORE**, in consideration of the foregoing, the parties mutually agree as follows:_

Article I._TERM OF AGREEMENT. This agreement shall be effective as of the 14th day of Consummare, Standard Year 877462 unless terminated earlier in accordance with provisions of Section 1, Clause 2 below. _

Article II._TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT – This agreement shall not be terminated unless the party of the first part releases the party of the second part. The party of the first part shall have the right to abandon or cancel this agreement at any time and shall be entitled to compensation for all services performed prior to written notification of such termination. Partial payment is discussed in Attachment B. _

Article III._ADDITIONAL EXPENSES. The party of the second part will reimburse the party of the first part for other agreed upon expenses incurred by the party of the first part as a result of providing services. Additional expenses are detailed in Attachment C. _

Article IV._RELATIONSHIP OF PARTIES. In performing the services specified under the terms of this Agreement, party of the second part agrees that the party of the second part shall be duly liable and responsible for all actions or inactions with the subsequent consequences thereof proceeding from providing services by the part of the first part._

Article V._CONFIDENTIALITY. Except as may be required by Baatezu law, neither the part of the first part nor the party of the second part shall disclose any reports, recommendations, conclusion or other results of its services unless the data contained therein have been previously approved for release by both parties. _

Article VI._SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this agreement or any application thereof shall be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of the agreement and any other application of such provision shall not be affected thereby._

Article VII._WAIVER. Failure by either party to insist upon strict performance by the other of any term or condition of this agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any such term or condition. _

Article VIII._USE OF NAME. The party of the second part shall not advertise the fact that it has contracted with party of the first part, or appropriate or make use of party of the first part's name or other identifying marks or property, without the prior written consent of party of the first part's Office of Business and Finance. (Note: This usually requires a separate contract and separate means of payment). _

Article IX._GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be interpreted according to the laws of the Baatezu regardless of its place of execution. Any actions, suits or claims that may arise pursuant to this Agreement shall be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Maladomini. _

Article X._NON BINDING ARBITRATION - In the event that a dispute arises out of this agreement, a non-binding arbitration may be requested by either or both parties. Once an arbiter or arbiters is agreed upon, both parties will work through the arbitration process._

_**Section II. Acceptable Forms of Payment**_

Article XI._COMBINING FORMS OF PAYMENT – Combining forms payment is a common practice particularly when a client wishes to enter into an agreement but no longer has the means with which to do so themselves. This is often the case with lawyers, politicians, and blues singers. In order to facilitate business, Baatezu law now allows the combination of various forms of payment. The following equation will explain how this is to be calculated. _

_Article XII.For more information, you will need to refer to Attachment B, Section IV, Clause 16, Sub-paragraph 6._

Article XIII._ALL OTHERS – Payment of fifty souls of any variety will be acceptable provided that none of the souls are not otherwise indebted, mortgaged, rented, loaned, leased, or encumbered in anyway. This represents quite an opportunity for party of the second party to be rid of undesirable, annoying or inconsequential individuals for the party of the second part's gain. _

Article XIV._SPECIFICALLY DESIRABLE – Certain individuals are possessed of a soul that the Baatezu find specifically desirable. Should you wish to pursue this route, contact the Baatezu representative listed at the top of this contract to find the name(s) in your area. Since some of these souls vary in desirability, you will be apprised of what portion of your fee each soul on the list will cover. You will also be apprised of any time limits on obtaining those souls at the time the list is provided to you. For more information about the specifically desirable payment program, please refer to Appendix E. _

Article XV._EXTENDED FAMILY – This represents quite an opportunity for party of the second party to be rid of undesirable, annoying or inconsequential family members for the party of the second part's gain. Payment of six souls of extended family members will be acceptable provided that none of the souls are not otherwise indebted, mortgaged, rented, loaned, leased, or encumbered in anyway. Extended family is defined by a direct blood/biological relationship excluding the biological father, biological mother, biological brother, biological sister, or biological child of the party of the first part but still within 3 degrees of relation._

_i.Three degrees of relation refers to the fact that there is a common biological ancestor not more distant than a great-grandparent._

_ii.For further definitions of Extended Family, please refer to Appendix A._

Article XVI._IMMEDIATE FAMILY – Payment of three souls of immediate family members will be acceptable provided that none of the souls are not otherwise indebted, mortgaged, rented, loaned, leased, or encumbered in anyway. Immediate family is defined by a direct blood relationship further qualified as being the biological father, biological mother, biological brother, biological sister, or biological child of the party of the first part._

_i.For further definitions of Immediate Family, please refer to Appendix C._

Article XVII._SELF – Payment of a single soul will be acceptable provided that the soul is the one belonging to the party of the first part and it is not otherwise indebted, mortgaged, rented, loaned, leased, or encumbered in anyway. For further definitions of Self, please refer to Appendix D._

_**Section III. Acceptable Locations for Payment**_

_Article XVIII. PAYMENTS - All payments shall be made at the First Bank of Maladomini. Payments made to field agents which are not received by the Bank will not be recorded toward payment of the debt. The First Bank of Maladomini has branches in Sigil, Ghenna, and throughout the Abyss. Branch locations are acceptable locations for payment._

She only gets as far as the locations for payment before she looses interest. She snatches the pen that the imp waves at her, ignoring the pain when it pricks her finger, and signs. She waves the contract in the air for a few moments to let the "ink" dry before handing it back to the devil.

Burg signs and has the imp witness it. He waves a dismissive hand at the imp and his attire, the boxes of paper, and the imp all pop out of sight.

He looks at Nathrrya, "There's a three day period before the contract goes into effect. If you change you mind, I'll let you cancel the contract."

Nathrrya snarls at him, "I want revenge now."

Burg shakes his head, "Listen up, old girl, once you ask for service, the waiting period is over and there is no cancellation. Payment will have to be made. I'd suggest you take your three days and think about what you've just done. While there are several ways to pay us, most of those means are closed off to you. As the last surviving member of House Kan'tar, you do not have any immediate or extended family who can assume your tab, willing or unwilling. I'll be back in two days and we'll see if you still feel the same way."

Before she can answer, Burg pops away again. Nathrrya, not having anything else to do, lays down and goes back to sleep. She dreams of all kinds of revenge.

&&&&&&&

Nessa stops singing abruptly and says, "We're not done with it yet. That's as far as I've gotten with it. Well….what do you think?"

"It's lovely," he smiles, "like you. I had no idea you had such a lovely voice." He turns to Deekin, "I'm impressed. I had no idea you could play so well."

Deekin grins at him, "Deekin learns lots from Boss. Deekin only ever plays kobold music 'til Boss. Old Boss likes Deekin's music, but no one else. First time Deekin plays in a tavern, Deekin gets pelted with rotten vegetables. Deekin not likes turnips. Stupid stinky gnomes."

Valen chuckles, "I know some songs I could teach you. I'm no bard, but I've been a lot of places and heard things that no one here would know."

Deekin grins at him happily, "Deekin likes that, goat man."

Valen narrows his eyes playfully, "I am not a goat man."

Deekin laughs, "Deekin knows that, but you gots horns like a goat, and yous belligerent like a billy goat, and you gots eating habits of a goat. Deekin not cares who your daddy is. Deekin thinks you is part goat. That be why Deekin calls you goat man."

Valen laughs heartily at this, "Hrmph! I'd still rather that you use my name."

Deekin gives him a sidelong glance, "Tells us why Burg be so impressed with you and Deekin not calls you goat man anymore."

Valen sighs heavily, "You know about the Blood Wars?"

Deekin nods, "Boss says you be in them. Right?"

Valen nods slowly, "Let's just say that I was general."

Deekin and Nessa both look at him curiously, but it's Deekin that speaks up. "Deekin thinking that maybe he writes epic about yous too, 'though Deekin thinking he be leaving out parts about you kissing Boss. Burg says that yous famous."

Valen shakes his head, "I am not what I was. I don't really want to talk about it yet. I…I don't know either of you that well, yet."

&&&&&&&

Burg trots in to his superior's office, waving Nathrrya's contract, "Look, Yiddie, I managed to make my quota for the month after all." Iyiduporyz, or Yidde for short is the pit fiend that supervises him. Yidde snatches the contract and reads it. He gets slightly past where Nathrrya stopped before he starts laughing. Yiddie nods, "Well done. One more month of making your quota and you'll be eligible for advancement."

Burg grins and trots off.


	13. Show Tunes

Nathyrra jumps as she hears Burg popping back into the cave. "Well?" she demands. He rolls his eyes in exasperation. "Be patient, drow." His expression becomes ominous as he leans near her. "Enjoy your freedom while you can." 

She is shocked back into silence as he starts whistling an odd, discordant tune and heads toward the rest of the group.

&&&&&&&

Deekin seems insistent that Valen tell at least some of his tale and it's starting to make Valen a bit uncomfortable. He's not yet ready for Nessa to get a full mental visual of him being covered in blood, killing everything that moves and loving every minute of it. He raises his hands in a gentle, defensive gesture. "Please, Deekin, another time, okay?"

Deekin sighs heavily and puts his notebook away. " Okays goatman. Deekin lets you off hook. For now." Valen nods gratefully. "I will share with you in time. Maybe when all this business with the Valsharess is over, we shall go sit and I will tell you my story." Deekin's smile splits his face as he nods enthusiastically. "You gots deal! I makes sure to have new notebook ready." He looks thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe I gets new pen, too," he mutters to himself.

Valen heaves a sigh of relief. "One potential disaster averted," he thinks. He begins to hear a strange noise in the passage behind them and grabs his flail, expecting trouble. He is surprised when Burg steps out of the darkness, whistling his little tune. Instinctively gripping his flail tighter, he looks at the devil with curiosity. "Kill it! Kill it now!!" screams his inner voice. The tiefling feels his blood begin to boil, so he turns quickly and steps away to put down his flail. He looks at Burg again and cocks his head. That tune is familiar. "Um, devil…?"

Burg looks at Valen and gives a gentlemanly smile. "By all means, call me Burg, milord. What can I do for you, sir?"

"That tune you are whistling. It sounds strangely familiar. Where did you hear it?"

Burg chuckles. "Honestly, milord, I am almost embarrassed to say." The devil seems reluctant to give further information, but an arched brow from the tiefling encourages him otherwise. "If you truly must know, I was sent to the Abyss on an assassination mission. Can you imagine? ME? An assassin? How utterly barbaric. I mean, the very idea that I would have anything to do with sneaking around and…" Another look from Valen stops Burg in mid-rant. "…ahem…right. Where was I? So, I was in the Abyss on my…mission…and decided to treat myself to a nice night at a place I know that also invites traveling entertainers. One of the specialties of this place was that they would often have entertainers from other planes. While I was there this time, they had a troupe from…oh where WAS it?" The devil scrunches up his face as he wracks his brain for the memory. "Oerth! That's where they were from! Anyway, they LOOKED human, but I wasn't sure. Their costumes were…very strange."

Valen listens thoughtfully, also trying to scour his brain of the memory of where he has heard that tune before. His eyes widen as it hits him. "Right!" he exclaims as he snaps his fingers and points at Burg. "I saw those guys, too! They came to our camp once for entertainment. One had some sort of hat on with all these feathers and another one had some sort of strange coverings over his eyes." The tiefling frowns. "I remember…the way they danced. It was…unseemly for a male to behave in that fashion." Both of them fall silent as they try to extract the lyrics from their memories. Valen starts humming and Burg begins to whistle.

Nessa and Deekin are watching the two of them in confusion. "What are you guys talking about?" asks Nessa. What song? What troupe?? She looks frustrated and crosses her arms over her chest.

Valen begins to sing softly…

"Young man, there's no need to feel down  
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground

Burg nods emphatically and joins in. Valen raises his volume to match.

I said, young man, 'cause your in a new town  
There's no need to be unhappy

Young man, there's a place you can go  
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough  
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find  
Many ways to have a good time

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
They have everything for you men to enjoy  
You can hang out with all the boys

Nessa and Deekin look at each other in complete shock as the demon and the devil continue their duet. Nessa finds Valen's speaking voice to be a delicious blend of smoke and silk, but his singing voice is another matter entirely. This is more like scratching stones on glass and she finds it to be terribly creepy. The devil's voice, when speaking, is a nice, smooth tenor, but his singing voice sounds like someone is stepping on their cat with no intention of getting off the poor creature. The resulting cacophony must certainly be enough to wake any dead laying around the area. The two bards continue to stare in horror as they each slowly raise their hands to try to keep the noise out.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
You can get yourself clean  
You can have a good meal  
You can do whatever you feel

Young man, are you listening to me  
I said, young man, what do you want to be  
I said, young man, you can make real your dreams  
But you've got to know this one thing

No man, does it all by himself  
I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf  
And just go there, to the Y.M.C.A.  
I'm sure they can help you today

At this point, both Valen and Burg are standing and moving their arms in very strange motions in time with parts of the song. They try to teach the motions to Nessa and Deekin, but the two bards are too confused by the proceedings to actually take part. By the expressions on Valen and Burg's faces, they are having a grand time. Nessa and Deekin are just waiting for their ears to start bleeding.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
They have everything for you men to enjoy  
You can hang out with all the boys

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
You can get yourself clean  
You can have a good meal  
You can do whatever you feel

Young man, I was once in your shoes  
I said, I was down and out with the blues  
I felt, no man cared if I were alive  
I felt the whole world was so jive

That's when someone came up to me  
And said young man take a walk up the street  
There's a place there called the Y.M.C.A.  
They can start you back on your way

Nathyrra enters the cavern and, like the bards, can only stare, mortified by the sounds being emitted by the two creatures in the middle of the room. "This is worse than that damned DOOM Song the kobold sings all the time," she grumbles to herself. She covers her ears and stalks to the bards. "What the hells is going on?" she yells to them, trying to be heard over the racket. Nessa shakes her head and points to her ear. "Can't hear you" she mouths then points to Valen and Burg. Nathyrra rolls her eyes in irritation, keeping her hands over her ears.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.  
They have everything for you men to enjoy  
You can hang out with all the boys

Y.M.C.A.  
You'll find it at the Y.M.C.A.  
Young man, young man, there's no need to feel down  
Young man, young man, pick yourself off the ground

Y.M.C.A.  
Just go to the Y.M.C.A.  
Young man, young man, are you listening to me  
Young man, young man, what did you want to be

Y.M.C.A.  
You'll find it at the Y.M.C.A.  
No man, young man, does it all by himself  
Young man, young man, put your pride on the shelf

Burg and Valen finish their song with an arm thrown over the other's shoulder. They are laughing heartily. The two of them look at their audience and can't help but see the mixed reaction. Deekin has grabbed his notebook and is moving toward them. "You tells Deekin lyrics to song?" he asks hopefully. Nathyrra's face wears a deep scowl. Valen looks at Nessa expectantly, "Well? Wasn't that fun?" She hesitates for a second, not wanting to hurt his feelings with the truth. "It WAS fun! That little dance you two did was certainly…unusual." He gives her a shy smile. "I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure about singing in front of you because your voice is so beautiful." He stops and chuckles at himself. "I know what my voice sounds like, Nessa. You don't have to worry that I'll ever to try to join you on stage."

Nessa laughs and grabs his hand. "I'm glad you won't try to get on stage with me, Valen." He looks a little surprised because such forthrightness is not her usual manner. She gives him a saucy grin and whispers in his ear, "I'd forget all about what I was supposed to be doing and try instead to drag you behind the stage for a bit of fun." Valen's eyes widen and he blushes as he looks at her with an embarrassed chuckle. "I do know some other songs if you'd like to hear them another time." She nods to him as she strokes the tip of his ear. "I'd like that."

Nathyrra sees the tiefling and the other elf murmuring to each other. "Oh, come ON, you two. Can't you keep your hands off each other for a few minutes?"

Deekin turns to Burg, notepad fluttering and pen ready. "Burg, what be words to that song?" Burg chuckles and pats Deekin on the head. "Of course, my little friend."

Nathyrra stomps her foot in frustration. "Are we EVER going to continue on our mission?"

&&&&&&&&&&

Valen cleans Beholder guts off his flail and looks down. "What be in that hole?" Deekin asks as he comes scampering up behind the tiefling. Valen shakes his head. "I don't know, but I don't like the smell."

Burg leans forward and gives a tentative sniff. "I smell arachnids, my large, horned friend. And…sniff…something else." The devil wiggles his nose a little as it trying to move the scent to another part of his nostrils. "I can't figure it out, though. Probably just dead stuff."

Deekin claps his clawed hands together. "Where there dead stuff, there be treasure, rights, boss?" Nessa chuckles and nods in agreement. "Absolutely, Deekin!" she responds.

Valen shrugs. "I hate to say it, but we should go down there. We don't know if there are more beholders…" he pauses and his next words come out as a growl. "…and I want to kill them all." Nessa looks at him sharply but cannot say anything before he simply hops up and lets himself go down into the chasm. "Valen!!" she cries as he disappears from sight.

* * *

Disclaimer: Just as we don't own any part of NWN or Bioware, neither do we own the Village People or YMCA. We didn't want to post it at the top so as not to spoil the lovely surprise. 


	14. Mating Rituals

Valen stands at the bottom of the chasm, tail swaying restlessly, for a moment. He inhales and tastes the air cautiously. It's seems dead and flat to him. He prowls forward a few steps and he can feel it. "No magic," he thinks, "Dead areas are rare. Wonder what's causing this one?"

Valen retreats to the entrance and climbs back up. He looks at Nessa, "If you're carrying anything that isn't absolutely necessary, leave it here. There's no magic down there, which means none of your magic bags will work. You may as well leave any of magic items here too, since they won't work either. If we can find what's causing it and if we can take it with us, we'll have a powerful artifact we can use against the Valsharess."

Deekin nods and stows his harp before retrieving a small shield and his short sword from his pack. He frowns for a moment and pulls out his crossbow, slinging it over his back and tucking some bolts into his belt. Valen catches his eye and nods approvingly. Deekin grins at him before padding off to cache their gear and help Nessa. Nathrrya frowns but goes to fetch her pack and re-order her equipment and gives Burg a dark look on her way past.

Burg rolls his eyes and snickers once she's out of sight. Burg is all too aware that if he has under contract, no other infernal will deal with her. He's agreed to the contract, not out of any real desire to aid Nathrrya but to prevent her from summoning up some other infernal who might actually be inclined to act on her behalf. "Now, if she had only read the rest of the contract…," he chortles to himself.

Burg eyes Valen warily, "M…My lord, would you mind if I accompany you? It would be quite an honor." Valen considers this for a moment, and shakes his head, "I don't know what we'll encounter, and it's hard enough, for me anyway, without already being in combat. If I'm already fighting…I don't know what I might do. It's not personal. I just think it's….unwise."

Burg looks so utterly disappointed that Valen walks over and throws an arm around Burg's shoulders, resisting his urge to pull out his flail and bury the head of it in Burg's skull. "Look, she likes you and I don't want to be responsible if anything happens to you. She's….she's not really seen that side of me yet. I'm not sure that I ever want her to, either."

Burg considers this and shrugs, "Yet you take the drow with you. You know she's your enemy." Now it's Valen's turn to shrug, "She's loyal to the Seer and the Seer said that she needed to come on this quest to find herself. Although, if I find out she's done anything else to endanger Nessa, the Seer might be minus one follower."

Burg digests this silently and decides that discretion is the better part of valor. He mentally tables the discussion of his contract with Nathrrya for another time. "No sense in upsetting him," he thinks, "just when things seem to be going so well." Burg looks around to see if the any of the others are within earshot and they don't appear to be. He looks at Valen timidly, "How is it, my lord, that you travel with not one, but two bards and neither of them knows who you are?"

Valen laughs heartily, "It's because neither of them have ever left Toril and here, only you and Seer know my past in any detail." Burg nods, "I…see. I fear I might have said a bit much to Nessa. I know that you asked me not to discuss it but she asked me some rather pointed questions. I…I like her and I didn't want to lie to her." Valen nods, "You did fine. She got enough from you to…to sate her curiosity…for now."

Burg looks greatly relieved, "Well, since you don't want my company, I'll be off." Valen strains to be polite, "It's…not you. You do know that? You should probably wait until they get back so that you can say good-bye before you go popping off." Valen looks terribly distressed for a moment and Burg finds himself feeling sorry for Valen. "It's just…I can hear the drums," Valen finishes softly.

Burg grimaces and backs cautiously away from the weapon master, "I've heard others talk about it. I've even observed it, but it's never been that much of a problem for me personally. It's something I can…push aside, if you will. I know that it's not like that…for everyone, tanar'ri or bateezu." Valen nods, "Even though my blood is mixed, or perhaps because of it, it seems to affect me differently. In the beginning….when I was young, it didn't call to me at all. Then I learned to heed it and finally, even to summon it. Now…now it is almost impossible for me to shut it out." His face contorts as he struggles for the words, "It's…euphoric to…to let go and just revel in it. Its…its an addiction and I'm the worst sort of junkie."

Burg looks at him and shakes his head, "My lord, if I may say a few words at the risk of over stepping my bounds. I know that we do not know each other well, but I have observed in you the most remarkable self restraint. The mere fact that we are having this discussion at all is proof of it. You may well consider it an addiction, but you seem to gained control of it."

Valen starts to speak but Burg makes a shushing gesture before finishing his thoughts. "I know that it is a constant struggle for you to maintain that control, but if anyone can do it, I think it will be you. You know, telling her might be helpful to you."

Valen looks puzzled so Burg shakes his head. "She is a bard," Burg points out, "and her songs are literally quite magical. She can use them to help you with your emotions, if you will tell her. My lord, I would offer you some advice. She is…quite attached to you and I think it would please her if she could be of some service to you."

Burg takes in the look on Valen's face and swallows something. Instead, he says, "You know, my lord, you need not tell her everything until you are ready. You might just tell her that you find certain things to be soothing." Valen sighs, "Have you heard her sing? Her voice is…." Burg looks at him curiously, "Yes, my lord…" "It's really lovely," Valen finishes lamely.

Burg nods his understanding as Nessa, Deekin and Nathrrya all return, considerably lighter. Deekin, heeding Valen's warning, has cached nearly all of his equipment. Nathrrya is armed with her rapier and her dagger. Nessa appears with her harp and her staff. Valen looks at Nessa speculatively, "Nessa, dear, do you have any weapons?" Nessa pats a dagger tucked into her belt and waggles her staff at him, "Don't you think these are weapons?" Valen shakes his head, "You might want to leave that harp here…" He gives her a mischievous look, "unless you plan on clubbing something over the head with it."

Nessa starts to look offended, but Deekin laughs heartily. Deekin elbows Nessa, "Deekin tells you that harp be useless where we going, Boss. No magic, no songs, Boss." Nessa looks down at the harp uncertainly, "I…I don't know if I can leave it." She looks up at Valen, obviously horrified, "I've never been without it. Not since I started training, at any rate." Valen shrugs, deciding that any woman who finds him attractive is bound to have a few quirks, and grabs the harp from her. Before she can protest, he rummages through his pack, yanks open a magic bag and shoves the harp into it.

Flipping his pack shut, he stops suddenly and looks at Nessa sheepishly. Gesturing at his pack, he says, "You don't mind, do you? It's just that I don't want you to be weighted down." Nessa flashes him a brilliant smile and without really paying attention to what he's doing, he steps closer to her. Reaching up to cup her face, he says, "I just want to you to be careful. If my lugging your harp around keeps you from worrying about it and keeps your mind on what we're doing, then so be it. I'd do a lot of things to see you safely through this."

Nathrrya, growing more impatient by the minute stomps her foot, "Gah! Do you two think you might possibly be able to stop making goo-goo eyes at each other for the space of five whole seconds? At this rate, the Valsharess will have defeated the Seer before we ever make it back to camp." Valen and Nessa exchange a quick look and both blush lightly before Valen steps away, quickly becoming almost brusquely business-like. He starts barking orders and instructions, but this time, he's not quite so harsh about it.

He's still aware that their survival depends on them doing what he knows is necessary, but this time he tries to balance that with the need not to alienate them. He sets their marching order with Nessa in the rear. When Nathrrya complains, he glares at her, "Nessa is the least well armed of any of us. She should be in the rear. Since you seem to be concerned about the order, why don't you take point?" Nathrrya huffs while Valen's glare only intensifies. He chuckles menacingly, "Are you afraid, drow?" Nathrrya's jaw sets in anger but assumes the lead position and drops lightly down to the top of the boulder below the opening.

Burg, watching the exchange, merely shakes his head. He bows to Nessa, "Do be careful down there. I dislike places of no magic. They always seem to have some nasty surprise in them." Burg turns quickly to Deekin, "And you, my little friend, keep a close eye on her." Deekin grins and nods, "That be why Deekin's here." Burg looks at Valen and inclines his head respectfully, "My lord." Before he pops out of sight.

Valen, unwilling to leave Nessa alone with Nathrrya, climbs back down to the top of the boulder before calling for the last two to join them. He moves to catch Deekin and lowers him down to the floor of the cave. He reaches up and catches Nessa next, giving her a bit of an extra, affectionate squeeze before lowering her as well. Nathrrya, watching, rolls her eyes but stalks off down the narrow corridor. "At least for now," she thinks, "they have something to distract them. I can't wait two more days."

When she gets to the end, she looks back at Valen to see if he has any preference about direction. On impulse, he gestures to the right and Nathrrya carefully pokes her head around the corner. Seeing nothing she proceeds cautiously, creeping stealthily forward while pressed against the rock wall. Spotting an ettercap, she gestures for the others to approach behind her. Deekin, seeing the ettercap, un-slings his crossbow and takes aim. With deadly precision, he plants the bolt squarely in the ettercaps chest.

It crumples before it even has a chance to realize that it's under attack. It falls into a large mass of webbing that shrouds a stalactite or column. Covered as it is, Valen can't decide which. A giant spider reels itself down from the ceiling to see what has disturbed its web. Finding the dead ettercap, the spider quickly rolls it in webbing and retreats to the ceiling with its prize. Valen pats Deekin on the head as praise for a job well done. Deekin gives him a toothy grin in silent thanks.

Nathrrya, wary of what may be lurking on the ceiling, reaches into her pack and pulls out a small bundle. She opens the bundle and makes a selection from several vials, hurling it at the ceiling. The vial hits the ceiling and shatters, creating quite a bit of noise. The phosphors in the alchemist's fire catch quickly and spread through the heavy webbing on the ceiling, providing quite a bit of light. Everyone blinks in surprise, especially the giant spiders that had been lurking up there. Deekin begins firing as quickly as he can but the spiders are rapidly being driven from their perch. A thick smelly smoke rolls down and even Valen grimaces at the stench.

He leans forward and whispers to Nathrrya, "Gah! I've had latrine duty in the Abyss and even that smelled better…" Nathrrya shrugs, "I didn't want anything "dropping in" for a snack." Thanks to Deekin's marksmanship and Nathrrya's quick thinking, most of the spiders have been dispatched and those that haven't have been driven down from the ceiling. Fires rage through out the cavern burning up decades or more of webbing, leaping from strand to strand and lending a hellish aspect to their trek. Nathrrya creeps forward, looking for more spiders.

She quickly spots three of them, hiding in some shadows and gestures for Valen. Valen looks and sees the size of the spiders. He shakes his head and gestures for Deekin. Deekin looks but shakes his head as well. Valen holds up fingers questioningly. At one, Deekin nods emphatically signaling that this is quite possible. At two, Deekin shrugs uncertainly meaning that he might be able to but not with any degree of certainty. At three, Deekin shakes his head indicating that this is beyond his skill.

Valen nods and thinks for a moment and looks at Nathrrya, who holds up one finger and shrugs. Knowing that Nessa is too poorly armed to be of any real use in the coming combat, Valen weighs his odds against two of the spiders. With a bit of help from both Deekin and Nathrrya he thinks that he can take them both before they get too much webbing on him.

He tightens his grip on his flail, bracing himself mentally and nods at Deekin and Nathrrya. Deekin's bolt strikes home and one of the spiders collapses into a ball, dead. The other two chitter at each other for a second or two and then charge. Valen leaps out and brings his flail down squarely on the head of the first, felling it instantly. He turns and gets a swing at the second one, but only lands a glancing blow. It rears up and spews a huge mass of sticky silky strands at Valen's legs, effectively gluing him in place.

Nathrrya darts in and pokes at the beast with her rapier, momentarily diverting its attention. Deekin manages to knock and fire a second bolt from his crossbow. Everyone heaves a sigh of relief when the third spider also crumples into a mass of legs.

Nessa and Deekin cluster around Valen while he removes the spider silk from his armor. Nathrrya glides off to see if she can tell what's ahead. As Valen scrubs the last of the strands from his armor, he notices the tiniest speck of rust. Shaking his head, he thinks to himself, "Is that rust? I've really must to polish my armor next time we stop." Sighing, he straightens to find Nessa busily studying his tail. Recalling what Deekin said, he blushes mightily and heads off in the direction he last saw Nathrrya.

Nathrrya glides around a corner, returning shaken from her scouting trip, and nearly runs nose first into Valen's chest. Valen reaches out and catches her before she can impale herself on his armor. Valen hold her out at arm's length and looks her over, frowning. He's seen enough drow to know when one is pale and enough drow to know what it takes to make one pale. Concerned, he says, "Nathrrya, what's wrong?"

Nathrrya is startled by being grabbed. Her first, instinctive thought is to punish the jaluk that has put his hands on her. The she looks up. It's Valen and…and he looks concerned. She so shocked by this that once again her brain locks up like a rusty water pump on a 1968 Buick. His lips are moving and she realizes that he's speaking to her.

Valen repeats his question and, putting her feelings aside, she gestures for him to follow her. She whispers back to him, "I think it's best if you see it for yourself." She leads him to a place where the chasm they are in opens into a much larger cave. It's dimly lit thanks to the huge patches of phosphorescent fungus that cover the desiccated corpses that litter the chamber. He can see an opening on the other side of the cave. Valen gets one look at the creature that prowls the dark recesses of the cave and curses in Abyssal. Nathrrya looks at him askance, "Do you know what it is?" Valen nods curtly, "It is a bebelith. It hunts tanar'ri." Valen curses again as he stares at the bebelith. "That's that biggest one I've ever seen though," he says half out-loud, " I wonder what it's doing here?"

A small breeze blows past him and into the chamber, where the bebelith becomes instantly alert. It turns quickly to face the opening where Valen and Nathrrya are peering at it. It raises its forelegs and its mandibles quiver and clack in obvious anticipation. Valen swallows hard and backs away from the opening. It's always unsettling to know that you're the entrée on the menu.

&&&&&&

The bebelith has been here for a long time. The lizard men brought him here many molts of his skin ago. They fed him for a while, but they went away. In some dim fashion, he misses them and the bound prisoners they used to toss him. After they quit coming, he spent a quite a few molts mostly being hungry. His meals were infrequent at best. Things have picked up lately though. There have been little scaly things that try to run and bigger, juicer bug-eyed things. He likes the bug-eyed things – juicy and tasty and not too hard to catch.

Now, though, the shifting breeze in the cavern has brought him a new smell. One he had forgotten. The smell of a mate. He rummages through his den looking for suitable offerings and finds a few carcasses that aren't too dried up. Laboriously, he begins to arrange them in the proper fashion to propitiate a potential mate. He knows that he must feed her in order to prove his worth and to keep from being a meal himself.

&&&&&&

Valen retreats quickly to rejoin Nessa and Deekin. Nathrrya stays to watch the odd behavior of the bebelith. Valen looks at Nessa and sighs heavily as he considers the contents of the chamber beyond. He pulls her off to the side, "I want you to promise me something." Nessa starts to say something flippant but takes in his serious expression. She swallows her comment hastily and nods. "I want you to promise me that you'll stay here. If anything…goes wrong," he grimaces, "I want you to go back to camp and get help."

Nessa peers up at him, "What ever is the matter?" He shakes his head, "That's not important right now. Right now, I want you to give me your word. You have to promise me that you'll go back to Lith My'athar, tell the Seer and have Imloth gather everyone he can." Nessa frowns at him, disturbed but she nods thinking to pacify him. He looks at her for a long moment and then nods, satisfied with her answer. "Good, then you wait here until one of us comes back to get you. No matter what you hear, I want you to stay put." Nessa looks a bit worried but agrees.

Nathrrya watches as the bebelith begins arranging it's lair. She frowns, since something about this looks familiar to her. She watches as the bebelith arranges his lair. The old desiccated corpses are all carefully rolled into a distant corner, while some of the fresher ones are rolled toward the opening. She thinks, trying to remember where she's seen this type of behavior before. Valen prowls up behind her, "What's it doing?" Nathrrya shrugs, "I'm not really sure. It looks like it's cleaning up."

Valen moves from behind Nathrrya and the breeze wafts past him into cavern. The effect on the bebelith is immediate. Its head goes down, its abdomen is raised into the air, and it begins dancing from side to side across the cavern. Nathrrya's mouth hangs open in surprise. She's definitely seen this behavior before. It's pretty typical mating behavior among spiders. Her brain works, trying to determine what the cause is.

Valen, thinking that he's on the menu, backs up. As soon as he steps back out of the air stream, the effect on the bebelith is equally immediate. It stops its dance and chitters almost forlornly. It waits patiently for a few moments and when nothing else happens, it flops down, chittering quietly to itself and looking quite dejected. As Nathrrya turns around and looks at Valen a slight breeze stirs a strand of her hair. Pointing to a spot directly in line with the center of the opening, she says, "Stand right there."

Valen looks at her warily for a moment before moving a few steps to the side. As he moves, Nathrrya watches the bebelith. It only takes a few seconds before the bebelith's attention is suddenly riveted on the opening. After a few more seconds, it stands up quickly and resumes its dance.

Nathrrya, unable to stop herself, bursts into gales of laughter. Valen, who has a short fuse where Nathrrya is concerned, approaches her angrily. As he moves out of the air flowing through the cavern beyond, the bebelith stops it dances and wanders about for a few moments looking confused. Valen pokes her in the chest, "What is so funny?" Finally gaining control of herself, Nathrrya, mouth still twitching, says, "So, how would Nessa feel about you mating with a giant spider?"

Valen, still not understanding what she means frowns at her. Nathrrya gestures toward the bebelith, "That's a mating dance. It's trying to attract you as a mate. It only does it when it can smell you." Nathrrya leans in and sniffs at Valen experimentally. She rolls her eyes at him, "Nope. Not having any effect on me at all. Even though it seems to have worked on the elf – and on that thing. It certainly seems to like you. Its been cleaning up its lair, laying out food, and now its dancing for you. Yes, I'd say it likes you quite a bit." Valen, having had enough of the drow, turns to stalk off. As he does, he's back in the gentle air current and to his surprise; the bebelith resumes its dance.

Valen stares in shock for a few moments as Nathrrya glides up next to him. She taps his arm, "You know, I wasn't just some underling's daughter. My mother was the Matron Mother of our House. We were all priestesses of Lloth. As such, we were expected to know all about spiders since they are sacred to Lloth. I know quite a bit about all kinds of spiders." Valen turns to see her, mouth still twitching, and relents, "I suppose it might be funny, from a certain perspective."

Nathrrya gives him a wry smile and nods. He heaves a sigh, "Do you…do you think I might be able to distract it? At least long enough for the rest of you to get across to the other opening?" Nathrrya nods, "I think you might. Most of their mating rituals are…quite protracted. Neither party trusts the other not to turn them into a meal. All you have to do is keep it dancing until you can get through the other opening."

Valen considers this information for a long moment as gives a hard stare at the bebelith in the cavern beyond. He heaves a huge sigh before turning to find Nessa. As he moves away from the opening, the delicious smell disappears and the bebelith slumps in defeat again. With Valen out of ear shot, Nathrrya gives herself back over to laughter. There is one important thing that she's…neglected to tell Valen. It's the male of the species that goes through the mating dance.

For Nathrrya, this is the most wonderful turn of events. She can't wait to get back to camp and tell everyone. She dances around for a moment, while she laughs. She's quite excited about the prospects of what it will cost Valen to keep her from letting it slip. And how much she's going to enjoy it when she finally does tell everyone. She rubs her hands in glee.

&&&&&&

Valen finds Nessa sitting on a rock. She looks up at him hopefully, "Is it over? Have you come back to get me?" Valen shakes his head, "No, there's been a change in plan." He heaves a big sigh, "I'm…I'm going to distract this thing and you're going to run past it." Nessa looks at him cautiously, trying to decide what could be so bad as to frighten Valen. He's staring at a spot on the wall, just over her head. She tugs on his arm, "What thing?" He's still staring at the spot on the wall, so she tugs on his arm, "What thing are you talking about?" He turns toward her and pastes what he hopes is a reassuring smile on his face. "It's a bebelith," he says quietly.

She looks puzzled, "What's a bebelith?" He grins at her, "You'll see soon enough." She looks at him warily, "I'm not sure I want to see it, if it makes you nervous." Valen chuckles softly as he leans down to kiss her. When he's done, he gives her a odd look. "Bebeliths eat tanar'ri," he says by way of explanation. Nessa thinks this for a moment, trying to decide how she's like to try to distract something that considers her edible. She grimaces, wondering how he's going to manage it.

They group up near the entrance and again as soon as Valen steps toward the entry way, the bebelith starts a wild leg waving, abdomen shaking dance. Valen rolls his eyes and takes a tighter grip on his flail before turning back to Nessa. "I'm going to get it to orient on me and turn it away from you. Don't start until you get my signal." Nessa nods in understanding and he runs into the cavern. At his approach, the bebelith begins waving his pedipalps wildly and even knocks a few stalactites from the ceiling of the cavern. Swallowing hard, Valen jogs to one side of the cavern. The bebelith follows him obediently, still dancing. When it's as far as he can get it from the opening, he signals Nessa and the others to start their dash. Valen stifles a chuckle as the spider puts on its mating display for him.

"Nessa you aren't," he thinks to himself as he watches his friends running to the other opening. As soon as they get to within a few steps, he begins edging toward the other opening himself. He creeps slowly toward it, not taking his eyes off the wild display put on by the bebelith. The bebelith is growing impatient, though and Valen strays too close to it. In long standing bebelith tradition, the bebelith smacks Valen, hoping to provoke either a fight or actual mating. Valen goes flying, careens off the cavern wall and comes to rest a few feet from Nessa. He hits so hard that straps on his armor give way, and pieces of it go flying in all directions.

Before Nathrrya can stop her, Nessa darts out and grabs what she can, including his pack, before darting back to the opening. The bebelith lumbers over and begins rubbing his abdomen on the now unconscious Valen. Nessa, who is watching concerned, turns to give Nathrrya an odd look. Nathrrya makes another stifled snorting noise before deciding that she really can't watch this any more. Nathrrya heads off around the corner and finds a huge obelisk along with some floor switches. Giggling to herself at the sight of the bebelith rubbing itself all over Valen, she begins toying with the switches. Before long, she's apparently activated an entire panel of them.

She tinkers with the rest of the switches and activates all of them. Reaching in to the obelisk, she pulls out a sphere which she shoves into her pack. Moving back to rejoin the others, she whistles a small tune and light spell contained in it activates. She grins to herself at finding the magic back and thinks quickly how she can best use this to her amusement. She returns to find Nessa distraught because the bebelith has been trying to figure out how to mate with Valen. Among the bebelith, limpness is a sign of compliance, of readiness and willingness to mate on the part of the female.

Nathrrya tosses her light ball out into the cavern to get a better look. Deekin sees it and realizes that what ever has been dampening the magic is now gone. "Deekin gots this one, Boss" Deekin quickly casts a spell on the opposite side of the cavern. It creates a mirror image of the bebelith. The bebelith, at seeing another male invading his territory, becomes enraged. He quickly drops Valen and charges off to deal with the intruder. While Deekin manipulates the mirror image, Nessa and Nathrrya are stuck trying to gather up his gear and drag Valen to safetly. Deekin shrugs, "Hey drow lady, you take spell and let Deekin take goat man."

Nathrrya considers this for a moment and shrugs. She assumes control of Deekin's bebelith mirror and Deekin hauls Valen to safety while Nessa gathers his things. Nessa hovers over him protectively, casting healing spells and wiping the goo excreted by the bebeltih off his face with her shirt tail. Throwing his cloak over him for the sake of his modesty, she rummages in her pack and pulls out another scroll. She reads it quickly and after a few moments Valen groans. His eyes blink open and he sees Nessa's concerned face a few inches from his. "What the hells happened?," he grows as he sits up. With a rising blush, he peers under his cloak and looks at Nessa, "I hate to have to ask you this again, but Nessa, dear, where are my clothes?"


End file.
